Nov. 15, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Followin a 56-point vicotry to earn the 900th victory in program history, the Penn State women's basketball program will host Akron on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will air live on the Penn State Sports Network and live video is available via BTN2go.com.
Follow Along
Fans can follow along with the game on Twitter (@PennStateWBB), or via live stats, live video or live audio with the links to the right.
Series History
- This is the first meeting between Penn State and Akron in women's basketball.
Scouting Akron
- Akron won its season opener over Division II Malone University, 63-52, at home on Saturday, Nov. 12 behind a 20-point effort from senior Hannah Plybon.
- Plybon connected on a school-record 104 three pointers during the 2015-16 campaign. She has amassed 1,202 points and has connected on 37.7 percent of her shots from the field and at a 34.8-percent clip from beyond the arc.
- Akron enters its contest versus Penn State on Wednesday, Nov. 16, having won 58 of its last 83 games dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
- Greta Burry is shooting 52.8 percent from the field for her career having made 124 of her 235 shots.
- The Zips have won 19 or more games in each of the last four seasons.
Last Time Out -- vs. Saint Peter's (Nov. 13, 2016)
- Penn State Lady Lions earned their 900th program win with a score of 106-50 against the Saint Peter's Peacocks.
- Penn State scored 64 points in the first half, marking the first time the Lady Lions have scored over 60 points in a half since November 8, 2013 vs. Saint Francis (Pa.).
- The 106-point game against Saint Peter's is the first time the Lady Lions scored over 100 points beating Saint Francis (Pa.), 117-77 in 2013.
- The Lady Lions won by 56 points, the largest margin of victory since a 101-44 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 2, 2012.
- Kaliyah Mitchell scored her 700th career point 2:36 into first quarter with a 3-point shot the top of the key.
- Mitchell reached 100 career assists one minute into the first quarter.
- To end the first quarter Lindsey Spann scored her 800th career point with a 3-pointer as the horn sounded.
- Spann's 3-pointer gave Penn State 39 first quarter points, which tied for the most (Michigan, 2016) since the NCAA moved to quarters for women's basketball in 2015-16.
- Scoring a career-high of 31 points, Spann netted over 20 points in the first half alone. It was her second career 30-point gameand makes her one of just 10 Lady Lions with multiple 30 point games in a career.
- Amari Carter finished the game with a career-high nine assists.
- Teniya Page scored her 500th career point on a layup one minute into the fourth quarter. She ended the game with 19 tallies.
- Ashanti Thomas and Mitchell finished the game with eight rebounds each, a career high for Thomas.
Next to 900
- In its 53rd season playing women's basketball, Penn State became just the 16th program in Division I women's basketball to earn 900 victories in program history with a convincing win over Saint Peter's, 106-50, on Sunday, Nov. 13.
- The program owns 900-438 overall record.
- Penn State joins Big Ten brethren Ohio State and Maryland in the exclusive 900-win club.
Spann Hits For 30, Again
- Only 10 Lady Lions have every posted multiple games with 30 points in a career, and junior Lindsey Spann is one of them after a career-high 31-point effort vs. Saint Peter's on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016. MORE ON PAGE 6
- Spann connected on 13-of-18 shots - including 4-of-8 from 3-point range - and made her only free throw attempt on her way to 31 tallies.
- Her 31 points are tied for No. 10 on the single game charts in 2016-17 and she is one of just 17 players to top the 30-point mark this season.
- Spann notched 30 points on Jan. 3, 2016 at Minnesota, making 10-of-18 shots, including seven 3-pointers. She made three free throws vs. the Gophers.
- In 2015-16, Spann and Teniya Page became just the second set of teammates to reach the 30-point mark during the same season. In 1999-2000, Maren Walseth netted 35 points vs. Michigan (1/27/2000) and Lisa Shepard had 31 points vs. St. Joseph's (11/27/1999).
Scoreboard Workout
- Penn State wanted to make sure they played at the pace that head coach Coquese Washington wanted and to be sure the scoreboard had all of the lights working, racking up 106 points vs. Saint Peter's.
- The 106-50 win marked the 49th time in program history the Lady Lions hit the century mark and their 106 points are tied for 19th on the all-time single game scoring list.
- Furthermoe, Penn State scored 64 points in the first half, marking the first time the Lady Lions scored over 60 points in a half since November 8, 2013 vs. Saint Francis (Pa.).
- The 106-point game against Saint Peter's was the first time the Lady Lions scored over 100 points since beating Saint Francis (Pa.), 117-77 in 2013.
- The Lady Lions won by 56 points, the largest margin of victory since a 101-44 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 2, 2012.
Moore Is Better
- Sierra Moore missed the entire 2015-16 season due to injury, meaning her last on-court appearance came on March 3, 2015 in the Big Ten Tournament. Her absence spanned 617 days and she returned on Friday, Nov. 11 at Drexel.
- Moore tied for the team lead with 15 points, connecting on 7-of-8 shots from the floor and 1-of-2 attempts from the free throw line. She added four rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes on the floor.
- More followed that with a 10-point, five-rebound, two-assist game vs. Saint Peter's.
Opening on the Road
- Penn State opened a season on the road for the first time since the 2010-11 season (at Dayton) with an 83-60 loss at Drexel on Friday, Nov. 11.
- Since 2006-07, Penn State has now opened on the road four times; at Dayton (2010-11) and at Drexel (2016-17, 2009-10 and 2006-07).
- Starting its 53rd season on the road, Penn State has opened with a true road game on 18 occasions. The Lady Lions are 11-7 in those contests, with the season-opening loss to the Dragons snapping a three-game winning streak.
Books & Basketball
- Senior guard Sierra Moore walked across the stage at the Bryce Jordan Center last April as a member of The Pennsylvania State University's graduating class of 2016.
- The Hanover, Pa., native accepted her diploma, a B.A. in broadcast & journalism, and is now working on a mater's degree in human resources & employment relations.
- Moore missed the 2015-16 season due to injury (knee), after averaging 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 2014-15.
- The trio of Kaliyah Mitchell, Lindsey Spann and Peyton Whitted all excelled on the court and in the classroom during the 2015-16 campaign, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors.
- Along with her academic honor, Spann was an honorable mention All-Big Ten performer, as well.
- Mitchell and Whitted were also members of the Dean's List following the 2016 spring semester.
500 Club
- More exclusive than Penn State's 1,000-point club, the 500-rebound group currently has just 32 members. However, one of those is senior Kaliyah Mitchell and fellow fourth-year player Peyton Whitted is knocking on the door.
- Mitchell secured her 500th rebound in the opening game of the 2016 Big Ten Tournament vs. Illinois and enters today with 521 career boards.
- With just 43 rebounds, Mitchell can move into the No. 25 slot, currently held by Kelly Mazzante (2001-04), who nabbed 563 career rebounds.
- For Whitted, she is just 28 rebounds shy of becoming the 33rd member of the club, thanks for a 256-rebound season in 2015-16.
Page Putting In Work
- Teniya Page produced eight games of at least 40 minutes last season and with her 39 minutes played at Drexel in the season opener, now has 19 games with more than 38 minutes played in 32 career games.
- Page has not fouled out of a game in her career, reaching four fouls in only eight games.
- Perspective: Page's 19 games of at least 38 minutes were more than the rest of the team combined from 2015-16. Only four other players (12 times) played at least 38 minutes in a game.
Spann Solid From The Stripe
- Junior Lindsey Spann has moved her named into the discussion as one of the top free throw shooters in school history.
- Spann has made 119-of-151 shots from charity stripe in her career to rank tied for No. 13 with Helen Halloway (1991-94)on the career free throw percentage list at .788. MORE ON PAGE 6
- Her .877 free throw percentage (57-of-65) in 2015-16 ranks tied for No. 8 on the single season charts with Jess Strom's 71-of-81 effort in 2002-03.
Long Range Lindsey
- In just 62 career games, Lindsey Spann has ascended into the upper echelon of the single season and career charts for 3-point shooting at Penn State.
- Her 106 makes from 3-point range make her just the 14th player in Penn State history to hit the century mark from distance.
- She is currently eight shy of passing Lynn Dougherty (113, 1989-92) for 13th on the career list.
- Her 65 makes from long range in 2015-16 sit tied with Kelly Mazzante (2000-01) for No. 11 on the single season charts.
- Spann's seven three-pointers at Minnesota were the most in a single game in 2015-16 for Penn State and sit tied for No. 4 on the Lady Lion single game charts.
- She connected on at least two three-pointers in six straight games from Jan. 10 - Jan. 27, before going 0-for-3 against Purdue (1/30).
Rookies Get First Taste
- True freshmen Siyeh Frazier and Jaida Travascio-Green each recorded the first official playing time of their respective careers in the season opener at Drexel.
- Travascio-Green connected on her first career attempt from the field, a 3-point basket with 1:33 left in the first quarter to push Penn State's lead to six points at the time.
- Overall, Travascio-Green would end the night with six points and two rebounds in 13 minutes of court time.
- Frazier played three minutes and had one assist in her first collegiate action.
MACtion
- Penn State owns a 6-0 record against the current alignment of the Mid-American Conference.
- The last meeting between Penn State and the MAC came on Nov. 27, 2009 when the Lady Lions defeated Buffalo, 86-65, in Orono, Maine.
- Three of those games have been played at home (Ohio, 1986; Western Michigan, 1985; Kent State, 1996), while three have been played at neutral sites (Buffalo, 2009; Bowling Green, 1995; Kent State, 2002).
- Penn State has already faced five of the 12 schools in the conference, with Akron on the schedule for the first time in program history in 2016-17.
Team -- Record
Akron -- First Meeting in 2016-17
Ball State -- No Meetings
Bowling Green - 1-0
Buffalo - 1-0
Central Michigan -- No Meetings
Eastern Michigan -- No Meetings
Kent State - 2-0
Miami (Ohio) -- No Meetings
Northern Illinois -- No Meetings
Ohio - 1-0
Toledo -- No Meetings
Western Michigan - 1-0
NEXT UP
The Lady Lions will close out their three-game homestand vs. No. 13/13 Tennessee on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The game between the Lady Lions and Lady Vols will air live on the Big Ten Network.