Sept. 24, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State Lady Lion basketball team will meet fans and sign autographs outside of the Penn State Bookstore's Beaver Stadium location from 4-5 p.m. on Saturday prior to the football team's game against Iowa at 8 p.m. The Lady Lions will be on hand to chat with fans, sign autographs and give out the 2009-10 team poster.
The Lady Lions return two of their top performers from a year ago in All-Big Ten first team selection Tyra Grant (Youngstown, Ohio) and junior guard/forward Julia Trogele (Devon, Pa.). Grant finished second in the conference and 18th in the country in scoring at a 19.6 per game clip. Her scoring average is sixth on Penn State's storied single-season scoring chart. A member of preseason Wooden Award watch list, Grant will have a chance to become the fourth player in school history to reach 2,000 points as she enters her final season needing 553 tallies to reach the milestone. Trogele led the team and finished 12th in the Big Ten with a 6.3 rebounding average. She was also fourth on the team in scoring (7.6), field goal percentage (.433) and steals (1.2).
Fans will have their first chance to meet the 14th-ranked recruiting class by ESPN/Hoopgurlz that includes WBCA and SLAM! Magazine All-American Nikki Greene (Diboll, Texas), Parade Magazine All-American Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.), all-state selections Gizelle Studevent (La Jolla, Calif.) and Marisa Wolfe (Ford City, Pa.) and transfer Mia Nickson (Ashburn, Va.).
Lady Lion Basketball season tickets are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY or 814-863-1000. Season tickets are $117 for adults, $52 for youth and $91 for seniors. The Lady Lions open their season with an exhibition game against Indiana (Pa.) on Sun., Nov. 8. Penn State fans that attend the Indiana football game can use their football ticket to receive buy one ticket, get one free ticket for the Lady Lions' home opener against NJIT on Sun., Nov. 15.
The 2010 WBCA Pink Zone at Penn State will take place on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m., as the Lady Lions take on Illinois in the Bryce Jordan Center. The game can be seen on www.bigtennetwork.com. The first three Pink Zone events have raised more than $80,000 for breast cancer awareness. This year's fundraising efforts will benefit the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. For more information on the Pink Zone at Penn State, visit the official Pink Zone website at www.gopsusports.com/pinkzone.
The Lady Lions are on Twitter. Follow head coach Coquese Washington (@psucoachquese), sports information contact Kris Petersen (@ladylionsid) and the Lady Lions and assistant coaches (@pennstatewbb) to get the inside scoop. The Lady Lions are also on Facebook. Search Lady Lion Basketball and become a fan.