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No. 16/15 Lady Lions Visit No. 19/25 Texas Tech Saturday in Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
UNIVERSITY
PARK, PA.— The #16/15 Penn State Lady Lions (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) will
look for their second consecutive win over a Top 25 opponent when they
travel to #19/25 Texas Tech (6-0) in the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
Saturday at 3 p.m. (Eastern). The Lady Lions are 3-2 all-time against
the Red Raiders and are visiting Lubbock for the first time since Dec.
21, 2004.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH: The Red Raiders are a
perfect 6-0 on the season and are 19th in this week’s Associated Press
poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Kierra Mallard paces
Texas Tech, averaging a double-double with 14.2 points and 10.7
rebounds per game. She also has a team-best 14 blocks.Chynna Brown
(10.2) and Kelsi Baker (10.0) also average double figures for TTU.
ALL-TIME VS. THE RED
RAIDERS: The Lady Lions are 3-2 all-time against Texas Tech. Penn State
picked up a 76-68 win over the Red Raiders last year in the inaugural
Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. The Lady Lions have only visited Lubbock
once, dropping a 79-65 decision to TTU on Dec. 21, 2004. Penn State is
14-16 all-time against Big 12 foes.
LAST TIME VS.
TTU: The Lady Lions led wire-to-wire on the way to a 76-68 win over
Texas Tech in the inaugural Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge on Dec. 5, 2010.
Mia Nickson tallied her first career double-double with personal bests
of 26 points and 14 rebounds/ Alex Bentley added 16 points, eight
assists, four rebounds and three steals in the win, while Maggie Lucas
accounted for 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
BIG
12/BIG TEN CHALLENGE: Penn State earned a win in the inaugural Big
Ten/Big 12 Challenge last season against Texas Tech. The Lady Lions
defeated the Red Raiders, 76-68, at home. The Big Ten claimed the
inaugural challenge, 7-5.
BENTLEY CLOSING IN ON
1,000: Junior guard Alex Bentley needs 23 points to become the 33rd
player in school history with 1,000 points. She will be the 15th junior
to reach the milestone and first Lady Lion to accomplish the feat since
Tyra Grant reached the 1,000-point plateau in 2008.
TOPPLING
TOP 15 FOE: The Lady Lions shot 48.7% from the field and 58.3% from
three-point range en route to a 103-84 win over #14/13 North Carolina
in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Nov. 30. It was the first win over a
ranked opponent for Penn State since topping No. 14/13 Iowa (68-59) on
Dec. 30, 2010. The 19-point win was the biggest margin of victory over
a ranked opponent since a 73-56 win over #8 Michigan State on Jan. 23,
2005.
CONSECUTIVE 100s: The Lady Lions reached 100
points for the second consecutive game with a 103-84 win over #14/13
North Carolina Nov. 30 and a 103-65 victory at Nevada Nov. 26. The last
time Penn State scored 100 points in back-to-back games was in 1993
when the Lady Lions defeated Nebraska, 102-66, on Jan. 2 and Illinois,
101-71, on Jan. 7. The Lady Lions have never scored 100 points in three
consecutive games.
SCHOOL RECORD FROM DEEP: The
Lady Lions connected on a school record 14 three-pointers in the 103-84
win over North Carolina Nov. 30. Penn State breaks the mark of 13 makes
from beyond the arc, which was accomplished twice (at Dayton, 11/21/10;
vs. St. Francis (12/2/99). The 14 threes by PSU also tie for the most
by a North Carolina opponent.
BENTLEY’S DOUBLE
VISION: Junior Alex Bentley posted the first double-double of her
career with 15 points and a personal-best 15 assists in the upset win
over #14/13 North Carolina Nov. 30. Bentley’s 15 assist are a career
high and are tied for 11th on Penn State’s single-game chart.
BACK-TO-BACK
20s FOR ZHA ZHA: Senior guard Zhaque Gray reached the 20-point for the
second-straight game with 25 points on 6-of-10 shooting from long range
in the win over #14/13 North Carolina Nov. 30. This is the second time
in her career that she had back-to-back 20-point games with the first
coming last year against Dayton (27) and Rider (22).
HIGH
SCORING HALF: The Lady Lions scored 58 points in the first half of the
win over #14/13 North Carolina, marking the first time the Lions have
scored more than 55 points in a half since tallying 55 in the second
half at Boston College on Dec. 2, 2010.
The Lady Lions
begin a three-game homestand against ACC foe Virginia Tech Tuesday.
It’s Toys for Tots night at the BJC and fans that bring a new,
unwrapped toy to the game will get a voucher to participate in a
postgame autograph session with four Lady Lions. Tuesday will also be
Dollar Dog Night. Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are available by
calling 814-867-2557. Season tickets are $117 for adults, $52 for youth
and $91 forseniors. Single game tickets go on sale Tuesday, Oct. 11.
PNC Flex Books are available again this year for $99. The Flex Book
gives fans 12 vouchers, including one for the Coaches vs. Cancer game
and one for the Pink Zone game, that can be redeemed for Nittany Lion
and Lady Lion Basketball tickets in any combination.
The
2012 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26 as
the Lady Lions take on Minnesota in the Bryce Jordan Center. Last year,
the Lady Lions donated nearly $200,000 for breast cancer causes. This
year’s fundraising efforts will benefit the Mount Nittany Medical
Center, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer
Coalition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and
Lewistown Hospital.
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