May 1, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Lady Lions will take on Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., as part of the 2008 ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge. The Big Ten and ACC conference offices announced the pairings for the second annual Challenge today. Game times and television coverage will be announced at a later date.
The ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge will match 11 teams from each conference in head-to-head competition traditionally on the first Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after Thanksgiving, following the men's basketball Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The ACC won the inaugural Challenge Cup with an 8-3 record against Big Ten foes. The Lady Lions were victorious in their inaugural Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge game, posting a thrilling 86-84 win over then-No. 11/10 Duke at the Bryce Jordan Center on a last-second lay-up from Janessa Wolff (Park Rapids, Minn.).
Penn State is a perfect 3-0 all-time against the Seminoles with the last meeting being an 83-73 PSU victory in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Tournament, a game that was played in Tallahassee. The Lady Lions also posted wins on Dec. 10, 1982 (86-84) and Jan. 2, 1984 (96-68).
The Lady Lions, who were 9-3 in non-conference play last season and finished 13-18 overall, return 10 letterwinners from a year ago, including All-Big Ten selections Brianne O'Rourke (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio).
O'Rourke earned third team All-Big Ten honors from the league's coaches and honorable mention accolades from the media after leading the Big Ten in assists (4.7 apg) for the second time in her career. She also finished 51st in the NCAA in the same category. The senior-to-be was third on the team in scoring (11.2) and second in steals (35).
Grant, an honorable mention All-Big Ten choice by both the coaches and media, led the Lady Lions in scoring for the second-straight year with a 13.8 average. She also accounted for 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She is on pace to become the 31st Lady Lion to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
The Seminoles are coming off of an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season with a 19-14 record. FSU upset Big Ten foe Ohio State in the first round before falling to Oklahoma State in the second round. Tanae Davis-Cain led four players in double figures with a 15.0 scoring average, while Jacinta Monroe led the team in rebounding at a 6.2 per game clip.
The 2008 challenge will open on Wednesday, Dec. 3, as Georgia Tech hosts Michigan State, Ohio State welcomes North Carolina, and Florida State takes on Penn State. Thursday, Dec. 4, will feature six games as Clemson hosts Northwestern, Purdue takes on Maryland, Illinois welcomes Virginia, Minnesota plays host to Boston College, Duke welcomes Iowa, and Wisconsin faces Virginia Tech. The challenge wraps up on Friday, Dec. 5, as Michigan hosts NC State and Miami welcomes Indiana.
The Big Ten and ACC conference offices coordinate the 11-game schedule each season, which may include rematches from year-to-year. In addition, the official title of the Challenge will rotate each year. In 2008, the event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge.
The Big Ten and ACC have long been among the most dominant conferences on the women's basketball scene. This past season, the ACC was represented by six teams in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, making it the sixth straight year the league has had at least six in the Big Dance. Maryland and North Carolina advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals, giving the ACC at least one team in the Elite Eight for the seventh consecutive year. In 2005-06, the ACC became the first conference to send three teams - Duke, Maryland and North Carolina - to the same Final Four. Overall, the ACC has made 11 Final Four trips, including six in the past 12 years.
The Big Ten sent a conference-record nine teams to the 2008 postseason, including four squads to the NCAA Championship. In addition, Michigan State was one of five conference teams to participate in the Postseason WNIT and became the second Big Ten team in as many years to advance to the event's final game. The conference has sent at least one team to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 23 of the last 24 years and has had at least one squad participate in five of the last 10 Final Fours, owning eight overall appearances.
2008 ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge Match-ups
Wednesday, December 3
Michigan State at Georgia Tech
North Carolina at Ohio State
Penn State at Florida State
Thursday, December 4
Northwestern at Clemson
Maryland at Purdue
Virginia at Illinois
Boston College at Minnesota
Iowa at Duke
Virginia Tech at Wisconsin
Friday, December 5
North Carolina State at Michigan
Indiana at Miami
Not Participating - Wake Forest
* All games/dates are subject to change
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