Nov. 19, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Closing out a three-game homestand, the Penn State women's basketball program welcomes No. 13/13 Tennessee to the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday, Nov. 13. The game tipoff at 5 p.m. and be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with Lisa Byington and Christy Winters Scott on the call. The game will air live on the Penn State Sports Network and live video is available via BTN2go.com.
Follow Along
Sunday's game can be viewed live on the Big Ten Network, with Lisa Byington and Christy Winters Scott calling the action. 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.
Scouting The Lady Vols
- Tennessee enters the game having won all three games in 2016-17, including a pair of road wins. The Lady Volunteers book-ended a home victory over Navy (85-55) with road wins at James Madison (81-69) and, most recently, at East Tennessee State (83-58).
- Diamond DeShields leads the Lady Vols in scoring at 17.3 points per game and was on fire at ETSU on Tuesday night, dropping 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor to go along with 10 rebounds, six assists and a block.
- Mercedes Russell leads the team in rebounding average at 8.0 per game and adds 16.7 points. Alexa Middleton is the third Lady Vol averaging in double-digits at 15.3 points per game.
- As a team, Tennessee has made more free throws than it's opponents have attempted. UT is 51-of-72 from the charity stripe, while their opponents are a mere 19-of-35.
- The Lady Vols have also been successful from long range, hitting on 50.0 percent of their shots from 3-point range (28-of-56) on the season.
Inside the Series
- Sunday's meeting will mark the 11th overall meeting between the two blue blood programs. Tennessee owns a 9-1 edge in the series.
- The Lady Vols have won five straight in the series, but this will be just the second meeting between the two programs since 2003.
- Last season, No. 5/4 Tennessee claimed a 74-66 decision over Penn State in Knoxville.
- The series is tied at one game apiece in meetings in Happy Valley, while Tennessee holds a 3-0 mark in neutral site games and a 5-0 record on Rocky Top.
Last Time Out: Penn State 84, Akron 71 (Nov. 16, 2016)
- Teniya Page scored a game and season-high 23 points for her seventh career 20-point game.
- Page connected on five 3-pointers in the first half, which are the most connections from distance in a half since Maggie Lucas hit six against Michigan State on March 9, 2013.
- Page added a game-high seven assists, to go along with six rebounds and one steal.
- Page played all 40 minutes, marking the ninth time in her career she played every minute of a game.
- Lindsey Spann registered 21 points, giving her 12 career 20-point games.
- Spann posted her 17th career game with three-or-more made 3-point bakets, hitting on 3-of-6 attempts.
- Kaliyah Mitchell posted her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
- Mitchell tied her career high with seven made free throws, going 7-of-8 from the chartity stripe and equaling her makes from Feb. 20, 2014 - her freshman season - against Northwestern.
- Jaida Travascio-Green blocked her first career shot in the second quarter.
- In head coach Coquese Washington's 10 years on the bench, Penn State has started its home slate 2-0 on eight occasions.
- Penn State turned 16 Akron turnovers into 29 points.
- The eight turnovers in the game are tied for 11th on Penn State's single game charts since at least the 1990-91 season.
- Penn State held a 43-41 advantage on the boards and has out-rebounded each of its first three opponents.
Last Meeting vs. Tennessee: Nov. 18, 2015 in Knoxville, Tenn.
- Peyton Whitted led the team with 17 points and 16 rebounds at Tennessee.
- Whitted's rebound total is a career-high, at the time, besting her two 11-board efforts from the first two games of the 2015-16 season.
- Teniya Page matched her then-career-high of 15 points.
- Page handed out five assists in the game, tying for game-high, moving her streak of games with at least five assists to three straight games to open her career.
- Lindsey Spann posted her first double-digit scoring game of the season, pouring in 14 points, and moving past the 400-career point mark. She ended the game with 407 career points in 32 career games.
- Spann tied for game-high with five assists, joining Page and Tennessee's Jordan Reynolds atop the charts.
- Kaliyah Mitchell posted her second straight game in double-figures, scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. She preceded tonight's effort with 15 points vs. Fordham on Sunday, Nov. 15.
- Ashanti Thomas posted the first multi-block game of her career with two rejections against the Lady Vols.
- The 13 steals helped Penn State force 17 UT turnovers in the game.
Team TidbitsAll Time Wins Leaders
- Penn State became the 16th NCAA Division I program to reach the 900-win mark in program history, with an overall record of 901-438 (.672).
- The Lady Lions are one of just three Big Ten teams to amass 900 or more victories. Ohio State (972), Maryland (917) and Penn State (901) are the three B1G schools to reach the mark.
- Of the top 25 schools on the all-time victories list, the Big Ten leads all conferences with four representatives, while Conference USA, the SEC and ACC each have three teams.
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.
Reaching 80
- Penn State has scored at least 80 points in its last two contests, marking the first time since 2010-11, when the Lady Lions scored 90-plus points in its first three games.
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.
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.
Starting Strong at Home
- Penn State has won each of its first two home games, marking the 37th time in program history it has started with at least two victories to start the home slate.
- Head coach Coquese Washington has won the first two games of a home slate in eight of 10 seasons.
- The Lady Lions have 10 unblemished seasons at home, including the 2012-13 squad that went 14-0 and the 2002-03 which won a school-record 16 games.
- Of those 37 seasons, Penn State has won at least three straight games to open a season on 27 different occasions.
Teniya's Page
Page Putting In Work
- In 34 career games in the blue and white, sophomore Teniya Page has produced 20 games playing at least 38 minutes.
- Of those 18 games, nine of them have featured at least 40 minutes. Page produced eight games of at least 40 minutes last season and played every minute vs. Akron on Nov. 16.
- Page has not fouled out of a game in her career, reaching four fouls in only eight games.
- As a rookie, she finished ranked No. 14 in the NCAA and No. 3 in the B1G with 37.6 minutes per game.
- Perspective: Page's 16 games of at least 38 minutes last season 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.
Crunch Time
- As a freshman, Teniya Page averaged 5.8 points per game (35 points) in the fourth quarter of Penn State's six Big Ten victories, playing 57 of the 60 minutes.
- As a rookie, Page was 12-of-19 from the floor (.632), including 3-of-4 from three-point range. She also hit 8-of-11 free throws (.727).
- In her first career Big Ten game, Page scored seven points, handed out one assist and didn't turn the ball over in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Lions to a win over then-No. 14 Northwestern.
- At Michigan State, Page scored eight points in the final 2:50 of the fourth quarter - including the go-ahead jumper with 1:01 remaining - to help PSU rally from a 14-point third quarter deficit for the road win over the nationally-ranked Spartans.
- At Illinois, Page scored 13 fourth quarter points to help PSU complete a come-from-behind win.
- Overall in the fourth quarter of Big Ten games, Page was 29-of-76 (.382) from the field and 10-of-20 (.500) from 3-point range. She had 16 assists and seven steals in 18 games.
Taking the Lead
- Against Akron on Wednesday, Nov. 16, Teniya Page led the team in scoring and assists, ticking off 23 points and seven assists.
- It marked the seventh time in her career she led the team in both categories in the same game.
- Overall, Page has led the team in scoring on 13 occasions and paced the team in assists in 22 contests.
Reaching Double Figures
- In 34 career games, Teniya Page has reached double-figures in the scoring column on 28 occasions, including the first three games of 2016-17.
- Page has scored 10-plus points in five straight games dating back to the 2015-16 season, as she netted 18 points in both of Penn State's Big Ten Tournament games.
- For the Chicago native, just reaching 10 points is not enough. Of her 28 double-figure scoring games, 21 of them have seen her score more than 15 points.
- The 28 games of 10-or-more points includes one 30-point effort and seven 20-point games.
Spann's Storyboard
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.
- 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).
Long Range Lindsey
- In just 63 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 109 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 five 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).
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 121-of-153 shots from charity stripe in her career to rank No. 13 on the career free throw percentage list at .790.
- 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.
Player Parables
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.
- Moore followed that with a 10-point, five-rebound, two-assist game vs. Saint Peter's.
Doubling Up
- The first double-double of the 2016-17 season came via a 17-point, 12-rebound effort from Kaliyah Mitchell on Wednesday, Nov. 16 evening vs. Akron.
- For Mitchell, it marked the eighth double-double of her career. She posted four as a sophomore in 2014-15 and three as s junior in 2015-16.
- Along with Michell, Peyton Whitted and Sierra Moore are the only other Lady Lions with career double-doubles.
- Whitted notched her first seven career double-doubles in 2015-16, while Moore posted three double-doubles in 2014-15, before missing last season due to injury.
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 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 533 career boards.
- With just 31 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 24 rebounds shy of becoming the 33rd member of the club, thanks for a 256-rebound season in 2015-16.
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.
Next UpT he Lady Lions will head to Daytona Beach, Fla. for a pair of games in the San Juan Shootout. Penn State will open play vs. Georgia State on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. and close out the tournament on Friday, Nov. 25 agaisnt Georgetown at 1:15 p.m. Both games can be head live on the Penn State Radio Network and live video will be available at GoPSUsports.com.