UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team returns home after a two-game road swing to face Big Ten leader #14/18 Rutgers Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. from the Bryce Jordan Center.
FOLLOW ALONG
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Game Notes: Penn State Notes
PROMOTIONS
- Amari Carter Senior Day
- Pre-game Kids Zone
- Pre-game Live Music with Rama Lama on the concourse
OPENING TIPS
- The Lady Lions return home after two road games to face Big Ten leader Rutgers Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Scarlet Knights won the season's first meeting 74-61 on Jan. 6 in Piscataway, N.J.
- Five Lady Lions are averaging nine-plus points, led by Teniya Page's 20.0 ppg. Page's 20.0 ppg ranks second amongst all Big Ten players, and 21st in Division I.
IF PENN STATE BEATS RUTGERS
- Penn State would beat its a team that is ranked in the top 20 of both national polls for the first time since Nov. 20, 2016 when the Lady Lions defeated #13/13 Tennessee 70-56.
- The Lady Lions would pick up their second win over the Scarlet Knights since Rutgers joined the Big Ten.
- Penn State would hand Rutgers just its second loss of Big Ten play.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
- Rutgers enters Sunday's contest ranked in the top 20 of both national polls as the #14/18 Scarlet Knights are 15-4 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play.
- Rutgers is coming off its first loss of conference play in its most recent game as the Scarlet Knights dropped a 72-66 road game at Iowa Wednesday night.
- The Scarlet Knights own the conference's best defense as Rutgers is holding its opponents to a Big Ten-best 54.9 points per game and a 42.9 field goal perentage.
- Stasha Carey leads Rutgers with 11.6 points per game, while Arella Guirantes follows with 11.3 points per contest.
AGAINST THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
- Rutgers leads the all-time series that dates back to 1977, 25-19. Penn State is 1-6 against the Scarlet Knights since Rutgers joined the Big Ten.
- The Lady Lions hold a 12-5 advantage when playing the Scarlet Knights in Happy Valley, including a 70-67 win in the last meeting in the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 18, 2018.
- Rutgers won the season's first meeting, 74-61, in Piscataway, N.J. The Scarlet Knights shot 51.9 percent (14-for-27) from the field in the second half to turn a two-point halftime lead into the 74-61 victory. Senior Teniya Page led Penn State with 23 points.
SENIORS' SHINGING MOMENTS
- The Lady Lions will be celebrating their five-member senior class in a unique way this season. Each senior will get their own "Senior Day" in addition to the cumulative Senior Day that will celebrate the class as a whole during the regular-season finale.
- The senior being celebrated on each Senior Day will get to pick that game's honorary coach(es) in addition to having their family and friends in attendance.
- The fourth Senior Day of the 2018-19 season comes Sunday against Rutgers when the Lady Lions will honor Amari Carter.
- Carter has made an impact both on and off the court since the start of her time as a Lady Lion. Amari ranks in the top 20 in both career assists and career three-pointers, and has averaged 10.6 points per game throughout her time in the blue and white. One of the strongest guards in the conference, Carter has earned All-Big Ten laurels as well as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
SWEET SWEEP
- Penn State is 3-5 in Big Ten play to start the conference season with the help of a season sweep over Wisconsin.
- The Lady Lions beat the Badgers 71-64 on Jan. 3 in Happy Valley before picking up a 65-59 road victory on Jan. 24 in Madison, Wisc.
- It marked Penn State's first season sweep of the Badgers since the 2011-12 season.
FIRST EIGHT
- The Lady Lions have played some of the conference's toughest competition to kick off Big Ten action.
- Penn State is 3-5 in conference action, but those five losses have come against teams that are a combined 21-11 in Big Ten play.
- Teniya Page has scored 20-plus points in five of Penn State's eight conference games. The senior guard is averaging 20.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per Big Ten game.
TRACKING TENIYA
- Teniya Page is in reach of a number of notable milestones as she continues her senior season.
- Page has totaled 1,969 career points, putting her just 31 points away from hitting the 2,000-point mark. She would become the sixth Lady Lion to reach the milestone if she hits the 2,000-point mark.
- Her 1,969 career points rank seventh all-time on the Penn State career scoring charts and is 13th amongst all active Division I players.
- She is on track to become the first player in Lady Lion history to eclipse 2,000 career points, 400 career assists and 400 career rebounds. As of Jan. 22, there are no current Division I players who have reached all three milestones.
- With 34 points against Stony Brook on Nov. 25, Page now stands alone in second place for the most career 30-plus point games (8) in Lady Lion history. She was previously tied with Maggie Lucas (2011-14) at 7.
- The standout has already etched her names into several of Penn State's record books. Her 18.2 points per game career scoring average ranks No. 4 all-time. She's averaged 35.6 minutes per game throughout her career, a mark that ranks second in the Lady Lion history books.
UP NEXT
- The Lady Lions are back on the road for a mid-week battle at Michigan State Thursday night at 7 p.m.