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Lady Lions to Host Notre Dame in 2013 Big Ten/ACC Challenge
UNIVERSITY
PARK, PA.— The two-time defending Big Ten Champion Penn State Lady
Lions will host 2013 NCAA semifinalist and ACC newcomer Notre Dame in
the Seventh Annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday, December 4, it
was announced by the Big Ten and ACC. The meeting will be a reunion of
sorts as Penn State head coach Coquese Washington is a Notre Dame alum
and played for UND mentor Muffet McGraw. Washington was also an
assistant under McGraw (1999-07).
The Lady Lions
are 5-0 all-time against the Irish, including a 2-0 mark at home. The
squads last met on Nov. 16, 2006 when Penn State posted a 75-49 win
over Notre Dame in the BJC. Washington was Notre Dame’s associated head
coach during that game.
Penn State is 2-4 in Big
Ten/ACC Challenge games, including a victory over Duke in the inaugural
Challenge and a record-setting 103-84 win over nationally-ranked North
Carolina in 2011. Game times, as well as television and broadband
coverage, will be announced at a later date.
The
Lady Lions won their second-straight Big Ten regular season title with
a 26-6 overall record and 14-2 mark in conference play last season.
Guided by the two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year in Washington, Penn
State will return the 2013 Big Ten Player of the Year Maggie Lucas
(Narberth, Pa.) and Big Ten All-Defensive team choice Dara Taylor
(Wilmington, Del.). The Lady Lions will also add an eight-player
recruiting class that ranks in the Top 10 in the country.
Lucas
is coming off of an outstanding junior campaign that saw her take home
top conference honors, as well as All-America accolades from the WBCA,
Associated Press, USBWA and Full Court. The Narberth, Pa. native
averaged 20.1 points per game to finish third in the Big Ten and 16th
nationally. Lucas also finished in the Top 10 in the country in
three-point field goal percentage (4th- .462) and free throw percentage
(9th - 90.0) and was 11th in three-point field goals made (3.06).
Taylor
made an immediate impact for the Lady Lions, finishing second on the
team and fifth in the Big Ten in steals with a 2.4 per game average.
She also finished in the Top 10 in the league in assists (10th – 3.4)
and assist-to-turnover ratio (9th – 1.2). She also contributed 7.0
points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
Penn State also
returns rising seniors Ariel Edwards (Elmont, N.Y.) and Talia East
(Philadelphia, Pa.). Edwards accounted for 7.9 points and 3.2 rebounds
a year ago, while East contributed 2.2 points and 3.1 rebounds. East
had a solid NCAA Tournament, averaging 4.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and
1.5 blocks in a pair ofgames.
The Lady Lions will
add eight new faces on the roster next season in guards Lindsey Spann
(Laurel, Md.) and KeKe Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.), swing players Jenny
DeGraaf (Springboro, Ohio), Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.),
Peyton Whitted (Suwanee, Ga.), forward Alex Harris (Lorain, Ohio) and
center Infiniti Alston (Baltimore, Md.), who signed National Letters of
Intent in November, as well as Sierra Moore (York, Pa.), who will sit
out the 2013-14 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Challenge
games will be contested in a two-day format, beginning Wednesday, Dec.
4. Indiana and Penn State will host games on the first day, while
Illinois and Michigan State will be on the road. On Dec. 5, Iowa,
Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin will host ACC foes, while
Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State and Purdue visit their inter-conference
opponents.
A year ago, Big Ten teams combined for
a 5-7 mark against its ACC counterparts. In the past two seasons, the
two conferences have squared off in head-to-head competition on 37
total occasions with the Big Ten holding a 19-18 advantage.
The
Lady Lions hold several camps throughout the summer. There is a Lady
Lion Basketball Camp available for girls of all ages, ranging from
shooting camp to elite camp. The 2013 Lady Lion Basketball Camp
schedule is as follows: Experience Camp (June 9-11), Elite Camp (June
22-23), Total Package Team Camp (June 20-22) and Games Galore Team Camp
(August 2-4). For more information on Lady Lion Basketball Camps,
please visit GoPSUsports.com/camps and click on Girls Basketball Camp
under Summer Camps.
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