UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team is gearing up for the final three games of the regular season beginning with a Sunday showdown at Illinois. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
TV: Big Ten Network – Jordan Bernfield and Shelley Till on the call
Video ($): BTN-Plus
Listen: 1390AM and Online
Live Stats
Game Notes: Penn State Notes
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State heads into the home stretch of the regular season as the Lady Lions kick off the final three games with a Sunday afternoon battle at Illinois.
- The Lady Lions are in the midst of a tough stretch of which four of five games are on the road.
- PSU won the season's first meeting with the Illini, 62-48, on Jan. 12 in Happy Valley.
- Four Lady Lions are averaging 9.5 or more points, led by Teniya Page's 19.3 ppg. Page's 19.3 ppg ranks second amongst all Big Ten players, and 40th in Division I.
IF PENN STATE BEATS ILLINOIS
- The Lady Lions would earn their eighth-straight win over the Illini and complete the season sweep of Illinois.
- Penn State would earn its second-straight win after a 72-61 victory over Purdue.
- Penn State would capture its second road win of conference play.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
- Illinois currently sits at last place in the Big Ten standings with a 10-17 overall record and 2-14 mark in conference play.
- The Fighting Illini's two Big Ten wins came over Wisconsin (78-68, Feb. 10) and Minnesota (66-62, Jan. 6).
- Illinois has dropped its last three contests and 12 of its last 13.
- Alex Wittinger leads the team with 14.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
- Brandi Beasley follows with 11.5 points and a team-best 4.9 assists per contest.
AGAINST THE FIGHTING ILLINI
- The Lady Lions have won seven-straight matchups with the Illini, including a 62-48 win in the season's first meeting on Jan. 12 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Penn State is 12-10 all-time in road games at Illinois.
- Stingy defense and a balanced team effort led Penn State to a 62-48 victory over Illinois in the season's first meeting on Jan. 12.
- The Lady Lions trailed by nine with just over three minutes to play in the first half, but a 16-0 run that spanned 6:48 of the second and third quarters gave the Lady Lions the separation they would need. Penn State then outscored the Illini 21-12 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 62-48 win.
- Sophomore Alisia Smith led the team with her second-straight double-double thanks to squad-best marks of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Teniya Page followed with 13 points and a team-high seven assists, while Siyeh Frazier chipped in 11 points.
LADY LIONS PICK UP STEAM AGAINST BOILERMAKERS
- Behind a season-best 50.0 percent (26-for-52) field goal percentage, Penn State picked up a big 72-61 win over Purdue Thursday night in the Lady Lions' most recent game.
- It marked the first time that Penn State has shot at least 50 percent from the field since Dec. 6, 2017 against Fordham (55.8 percent), and the first time against a Big Ten opponent since Feb. 24, 2016 against Iowa (50.0 percent).
- The victory over the Boilermakers got Penn State back in the win column as the Lady Lions snapped their six-game losing streak.
- Junior Siyeh Frazier led the Penn State charge with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. She's the first Lady Lion to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists since Dec. 31 when Teniya Page did so against Indiana.
- Senior Amari Carter (18 points) and junior Jaida Travascio-Green (14 points) tied their season highs in scoring to help PSU to the B1G victory.
TOUGH STRETCH
- The Lady Lions are in the midst of one of the toughest stretches of the season.
- Between Feb. 14 and Feb. 27, Penn State will be playing four of five games on the road.
- Penn State earned a 72-61 win over Purdue Thursday night in the lone home game during this stretch.
AN ELITE CLUB
- Senior guard Teniya Page became the sixth-ever Lady Lion to reach the 2,000 career point milestone on Feb. 3 against Iowa.
- Page joined the likes of former Penn State legends Kelly Mazzante (2,919 points), Maggie Lucas (2,510), Susan Robinson (2,253), Tyra Grant (2,044) and Kahadeejah Herbert (2,026) as the sixth member of the 2,000-point club.
- Her 2,072 career points are fourth all-time on the Penn State career scoring charts and 14th amongst all active Division I players.
- The standout has already etched her names into several of Penn State's record books:
- Career minutes per game (35.5) - 2nd in Penn State history
- Career 30-plus point games (8) - 2nd in Penn State history
- Career free throws made (527) - 2nd in Penn State history
- Career scoring average (18.2 ppg) - 4th in Penn State history
UP NEXT
- The Lady Lions remain on the road to take on Michigan State Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
- The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 27, but postponed due to the polar vortex that gripped the country in late January.