Oct. 25, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Head coach Coquese Washington announced today the addition of guard Nicole Arcidiacono (Langhorne, Pa.) (pronounced archie-DEE-ak-oh-no) to the Lady Lion roster for the 2007-08 season.
"Nicole has got a great personality, a bright basketball mind and is picking things up quickly," Washington said. "She fits in very well with the rest of the team and contributes to our growing team chemistry."
Arcidiacono, a business marketing major, played high school basketball at Archbishop Wood High School where she was a three-time All-Catholic league selection. She served as a tri-captain her senior season, leading the Vikings to a 21-4 record. Arcidiacono accumulated 133 points and 117 rebounds in her final season in an Archbishop Wood uniform and completed her career with 472 points and 546 rebounds.
Arcidiacono, who is in her third semester at Penn State, is considered a freshman for eligibility purposes. She played for the women's club basketball team last year, helping the squad to a second-place finish in the league.
The Lady Lions will face Millersville (Pa.) in an exhibition game on Wednesday, October 31, before opening the 2007-08 regular season by hosting the WBCA/Basketball Travelers Classic at the Bryce Jordan Center November 9-11. Penn State will face Arizona on Nov. 9, before meeting Charlotte on Nov. 10 and in-state rival Pittsburgh on Nov. 11.
The Lady Lions return three starters, including two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention selection Kam Gissendanner (Clairton, Pa.), who is closing in on 1,000 points for her career, and 2006 All-Big Ten honorable mention choice Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who is just the 15th player in school history with 200 assists. Sophomore guard Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) also returns after leading the team in scoring as a rookie and finishing third on the school's single-season freshmen scoring charts.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets or flex plan packages by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center box office, calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336 or by clicking on the ticket link on www.GoPSUsports.com. This season, Penn State introduced a new seven-game Lady Lion Flex Plan package where fans will receive a ticket to the Duke (Sun., Dec. 2) and Georgetown (Sun., Dec. 9) games and the second annual THINK PINK Day versus Iowa (Sun., Feb. 10), as well as four flex vouchers to redeem in any ticket combination for Big Ten games.