Feb. 27, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. -- Sophomore Teniya Page (Chicago, Ill.) continues to write her name among Penn State's historically elite student-athletes, earning All-Big Ten first team honors from the conference's coaches and media to headline the Penn State Women's Basketball's three honorees as the Big Ten Conference announced its postseason awards Monday.
Page was a first-team pick by the Big Ten coaches and media panel, becoming the sixth Penn State sophomore to earn First Team All-Big Ten honors, while senior Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.) earned honorable mention accolades from the conference's media panel. Sophomore Sarah McMurtry was named Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second-straight season.
Page's selection to the All-Big Ten first team continue a trend that has seen 31 Lady Lions selected to the top all-conference team, the most since the Blue and White joined the Big Ten in 1992-93. Mitchell's selection marks the 34th different Lady Lion to earn all-conference honors in the 25 seasons in the conference.
Penn State finished the regular season with a 19-9 overall record, including a 9-7 mark during the conference ledger to finish tied for sixth in the final standings. The Lady Lions earned the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament via tiebreaker and will open postseason play on Thursday, March 2 vs. No. 10 seed Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Teniya Page | So. | Guard | Chicago, Ill.
All-Big Ten First Team (coaches & media)
1️⃣9️⃣ points and almost 4️⃣ assists per game! That's 💪 enough for 1️⃣st team All-#B1G! Congrats, Teniya! pic.twitter.com/qpx0uKxLqa
-- Lady Lion Basketball (@PennStateWBB) February 27, 2017
2016-17 Statistics:
27 games played/27 starts, 34.7 minutes per game, 525 points (19.4 ppg), .444 field goal percentage (178-of-401), .431 3-point field goal percentage (53-of-123), .800 free throw percentage (116-of-145), 100 rebounds (3.7 rpg), 102 assists (3.8 apg), 1.6 assist-turnover ratio.
Notes:
- Earns her second career all-conference nod after earning All-Big Ten second team during her rookie season.
- First Penn Stater to earn first-team all-conference honors since Maggie Lucas in 2013-14.
- Sixth sophomore in Penn State history to earn All-Big Ten first team honors, joining Alex Bentley, Maggie Lucas, Kelly Mazzante, Tina Nicholson, Angie Potthoff and Tanisha Wright.
- Becomes the 14th Lady Lion (31 times) to earn All-Big Ten first team in program history.
- Sits at 998 career points, just two shy of becoming the fourth Penn State student-athlete to eclipse the 1,000-point mark prior to the end of her sophomore season (Maggie Lucas, Kelly Mazzante, Susan Robinson).
- One of only four Penn Staters to post back-to-back seasons with 450 points and 100-plus assists in school history, a group that includes Bentley, Carol Walderman and Tanisha Wright.
- Ranks No. 25 nationally and No. 5 in the Big Ten in scoring average, with her 19.4 points per game ranking No. 11 on the Penn State single season list.
- Currently ranks No. 24 on Penn State's single season scoring charts with 525 points in 27 games.
- Three 30-point games in 2016-17, the most since Mazzante's four 30-point efforts in 2003-04.
- Ranks No. 38 on the career scoring charts at 998 points and No. 23 on the career assist ledger with 232 career helpers.
Kaliyah Mitchell | Sr. | Forward | Stone Mountain, Ga.
All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (media)
🆙🔝â•Kaliyah Mitchell ends her career with Honorable Mention All-#B1G honors! 🙌👏🏆🎉🎊 pic.twitter.com/pbdxgTnoXo
-- Lady Lion Basketball (@PennStateWBB) February 28, 2017
2016-17 Statistics:
28 games played/18 starts, 22.5 minutes per game, 210 points (7.5 ppg), .462 field goal percentage (73-of-158), .400 3-point field goal percentage (14-of-35), .769 free throw percentage (50-of-65), 158 rebounds (5.6 rpg), 20 assists, 22 blocked shots, 35 steals.
Notes:
- Earns her first career all-conference honor and is the fourth current Lady Lion to garner All-Big Ten honors, joining Page, Sierra Moore (2015, HM) and Lindsey Spann (2016, HM).
- Becomes the 34th Lady Lion (91 occasions) to receive All-Big Ten honors since Penn State joined the conference in 1992-93.
- Sits at 897 career points to rank No. 44 in school history and sits No. 18 on the career rebounding charts with 667 career caroms.
- Owns 10 career double-doubles, including three in 2016-17.
- Has appeared in all 121 games of her Penn State career, including 71 starts, which ranks No. 29 in Penn State history.
Sarah McMurtry | So. | Guard | Pittsburgh
Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree
2016-17 Statistics:
7 games played, 1.9 minutes per game.
Being a 😊 sport is 🆒 and @SplendaSarah4 is 💯the best! Congrats on the #B1G Sportsmanship Award pic.twitter.com/UZPUZTWGdK
-- Lady Lion Basketball (@PennStateWBB) February 28, 2017
Notes:
- Honored as Penn State's Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree for the second-straight season.
- Named team captain prior to the season.
- Joined the program as a walk-on in 2015-16 and has appeared in 15 career games, including seven this season.
- Earned a scholarship for the 2016-17 season last spring.
- All four of the members of her immediate family have graduated from Penn State, and her grandfather earned his degree and was a professor on the University Park campus.