Good afternoon Lady Lion basketball fans and welcome to another exciting installment of Penn State women's basketball. Im Brian Eller, and I'll be taking you through today's game as the Lady Lions will face off against the Drexel Dragons. Hope that Thanksgiving gut has deflated and those Black Friday bruises have helaed cause it's time for some basketball.

As the Lady Lions take the court they are greeted by a dissapointing crowd. The student section is nowhere to be found and even the Pride of the Lions band sounds like my 4th grade music class. But, the players are certainly here, and as both teams shoot around for warmups, let's take a look at how each team has fared over the past few weeks.

For Penn State, they enter today's matchup with a 4-1 record, including a perfect 3-0 at home. The Lady Lions come off of their first road win of the season last Tuesday, defeating South Carolina 70-63.

For the Drexel Dragons, a 1-3 start to the season has head coach Denise Dillon ready to get her team back on the winning track. Drexel is coming off a heatbreaking loss, dropping a 70-67 decision to Army last Tuesday.

Starting Lineups:

Penn State: Guard-Mashea Williams
Guard-Brianne O'Rourke
Guard-Kam Gissendanner
Guard-Tyra Grant
Forward-Rashida Mark

Drexel: Guard-Jasmina Rosseel
Guard-Narissa Suber
Forward-Gabriela Marginean
Forward-Delise Johnson
Forward-Anora Suber

15:53 left in 1st half PSU 4, Drexel 6

A sloppy start so far for the Lady Lions. Despite an opening 3-pointer from Brianne O'Rourke, the rest of the team hasnt been able to hit their shots. Meanwhile, Drexel's Gabriella Marginean has four early points for the Dragons, as they have a two point lead.

10:00 left in 1st half PSU 14, Drexel 8

Penn State is starting to get into a nice groove as the 1st half continues. Brianne O'Rourke leads the Lady Lions with seven points, and freshman Janessa Wolff has two points off the bench.

Halftime, PSU 30, Drexel 28

An interesting first half here at the Bryce Jordan Center. What was originally thought to be a blowout is now a very tightly contested match, as Penn State leads by two heading into the locker room. Both teams have struggled in the turnover department. For Penn State, poor passing and missed shots have hindered its ability to put points on the board. Drexel forward Gabriella Marginean has 16 points in the first half, and had contributed largely to the Dragons' success in the paint. Brianne O'Rourke continues to shine for the Lady Lions, connecting on three 3-pointers in the first half.

13:00 left in the 2nd half: PSU 43, Drexel 39

With just 13 minutes left to play, neither team seems to want to take advantage of its opportunities. Gabriella Marginean continues to be a hassle for the Lady Lions. She currently has 23 points, 59% of her team's total points.

7:47 left in the 2nd half: PSU 51, Drexel 44

Well it looks like Penn State has finally found its groove. After finishing an 11-1 run to go up by 10, the Lady Lions have settled into a comfortable seven point lead. Freshman forward Julia Trogele just picked up her fourth foul of the afternoon, so it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more Janessa Wolff in the final minutes.

3:13 left in the 2nd half: PSU 56, Drexel 51

This will most likely be the last post for today's game. The Lady Lions hold a small five point lead with time running down. Julia Trogele has fouled out for Penn State, as she finishes the game with five points and five boards to go along with her five fouls. Drexel guard Jasmina Rosseel has heated up for the Dragons in the past few minutes. She now has 14 points, but just picked up her third foul of the afternoon.

It's over! The Lady Lions finally ended their nine-game road losing streak by beating South Carolina 70-63 Tuesday night.

It was Penn State's first win on an opponent's campus since December of 2006.

The Lady Lions grabbed the lead on a pair of Janessa Wolff free throws two-and-a-half minutes into the contest and never relinquished their advantage.

Sophomore guard Tyra Grant once again topped the scoring column with 17 points on eight of 14 shooting. Wolff (12), junior point guard Brianne O'Rourke (11) and senior guard Kam Gissendanner (10) were the other Lady Lions to finish in double figures. Gissendanner also finished with 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Demetress Adams led the way for the Lady Gamecocks with 17 points and three blocks, but it was not enough to fend off Penn State's balanced scoring attack.

This is head coach Coquese Washington's first win away from the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions return to action when the Drexel Dragons breathe their fire on Happy Valley at 2 p.m., Sunday Nov. 25.

- Wible

They Lady Lions will get another shot to snap their 11-month road losing streak at 7 tonight at South Carolina. Penn State's last victory in an opponent's gym was Dec. 17, 2006, at Georgetown (The Lady Lions beat Illinois at the Big Ten tournament in March, but at a neutral site).

Penn State couldn't hold a lead at Xavier last Thursday; mainly because of Musketeer star forward Amber Harris who delivered 30 points, including 21 in the second half.

The Lady Gamecocks are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents by 25 points per contest, including a 93-33 drubbing of St. Francis (Pa.).

South Carolina is led by guard Brionna Dickerson (17 ppg) and 6-foot-4 forward Demetress Adams (15.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.6 blocks, 2.3 steals).

Aside from on the court, this is a long road trip for the Lady Lions, especially during fall break when almost all of the students are home and campus is barren. But after coming so close at Xavier, head coach Coquese Washington should have her team mentally prepared for the game. She did not make any excuses for the loss in Cincinnati and said the quiet campus will allow her team to focus.

It'll be interesting to see how the team, and Washington, responds to its first defeat. Another loss could bring bad karma and start another trend, like last season. A win against the Lady Gamecocks (I love saying that) could give the Lady Lions renewed confidence and put them on the road toward Big Ten contention.

Either way, it should be a good game.

And for the record, a Gamecock is a rooster bred for cockfighting. They are usually strong, fierce and bred to be relentless fighters. Of course cockfighting is illegal in the United States, so why hasn't anyone gotten on South Carolina for its mascot? I mean Mike Vick is in jail, but a major university is condoning illegal chicken fighting rings. (Sarcasm everybody, what Vick did was abhorred able and he deserves as much punishment as possible).

And also, the paper at the University of South Carolina is the Daily Gamecock, now I love the Daily Collegian, but the Daily Gamecock sounds much cooler and definitely wins the battle of paper names.

- Wible

College basketball's early-signing period is upon us and Lady Lions head coach Coquese Washington has inked her first class.

Penn State signed three post players last season, so it's only natural that a trio of guards comprise this year's class.

Leading the way is Renee Womack, a 5-foot-10 guard from Methacton High School in Lansdale. She averaged 16.4 points, 9 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2 blocks per game last season and is a four-star prospect according to Hoopgurlz.com. The site also ranks her as the No. 82 prospect in the country.

Zhaque Gray is a 5-foot-8 point guard from John Hope High in Chicago. A Hoopgurlz three-star prospect, Gray averaged 21 points and 5.7 rebounds while earning all-state honors last season. A natural scoring, Gray connected on 55 shots from beyond the arc last season.

The third piece of the class is 5-foot-4 guard Emily Phillips from Washington High in South Bend, Ind. Phillips averaged nine points, five assists and two rebounds from the Indiana state champions. Washington High is also the No. 11 team in the ESPN HIGH Elite 25 high school girls basketball national rankings.

Coquese Washington is familiar with Phillips from her days as an assistant at Notre Dame, which is about 5 miles from Washington High.

This class is centered around speed, which should allow Washington to continue to implement her fast-paced offense and quick, pressure defense.

It also shows Washington's ability to recruit. She was known for her recruiting prowess at Notre Dame and has already opened avenues to areas Penn State did not traditionally recruit (Chicago and Northern Indiana).

- Wible

Howdy yall, I'm Collegian Women's Basketball writer Andrew Wible and I'll be taking you through the final game of the WBCA classic with the host Lady Lions taking on archrival Pitt.

It's not much of a rivalry anymore, but my dad is a PSU alum and I was raised to cringe pretty much everytime I see the blue and gold of the panthers.

It should be a good game today as both teams come in sporting 2-0 records, and Pitt sitting at No. 20 in the country.

I'll be keeping you updated throughout the contest, and maybe we can have a little fun while we're at it. So buckle up women's basketball fans, and enjoy the show.

We're at the first television timeout with 15:47 remaining in the first half and the score is knotted at 5. The Lady Lions have missed a couple of opportunites but do not appear intimidated by the top-20 panthers.

Also, Pitt's All-Big East center Mercedes Walker is on the bench with two fouls. This is juge, not just because of Walker's caliber, but because, well, she's huge. She's listed at 6-foot-3 and unlike the men the roster's don't list weights. And since my momma raised me to be a gentleman, I'm not gonna register a guess. But let's just say Walker is a HUGE presence inside and if the Lady Lions can keep her in foul trouble, their odds of winning increase exponentially

Quick NFL update from the Bryce Jordan Center PA announcer:
Pittsburgh (Steelers, not Panthers) beat Cleveland 31-28 and Philadelphia topped Washington 33-25. And as a Steelers' fan, I'd like to add that the Pittsburgh scored received a much louder cheer than the Eagles' final.

Less than 10 minutes remaining first half and it's evident that both teams are fatigued playing their third game in three days. There has been a lot of sloppy play with both teams shooting less than 25 percent from the field and the two teams have combined for eight turnovers and 10 fouls.

2nd media timeout, and they're playing "cotton-eye joe." As a man from the country, I can appreciate this hick song, but what place does it have at a basketball game? This ain't Hoosiers, I want some Kayne or Jay-Z.

I just saw the Nittany Lion holding a baby, and I have to wonder just how traumatizing an experience that must be. You're less than a year old, and this giant thing in a brown suit with big teeth picks you up? I'm suprised more babies don't suffer from fear of Lions.

Walker is on the bench with her third foul of the game, bad news foer the Panthers. 18-15 Penn State with 5:50 remaining first half.

Pitt coach Agnus Berenato just took a 30-second timeout with 5:12 remaining first half. The Panthers have missed two breakaway layups and trail the Lady Lions 20-15.

The Panthers responded and promptly went on a 6-1 run to tie the game, 21-21 tie with 3:03 remaining first half.

Lady Lion captain Brianne O'Rourke promptly put an end to the Pitt run with a basket from the baseline, followed by drawing a charge at the other end. 3:00 remaining first half Penn State 23, Pitt 21, Lady Lions' ball.

Also, a fan just played the secret prize-in-the-box game and had the option of a Lady Lions visor or whatever was in the box. She took the box and received a pink floating noodle.

1:23 remaining first half and we have our first "safety school" chant from the "other Lady Lions" student section, 27-23 Penn State.

Halftime at the BJC with the score Penn State 31 Pitt 26. Neither team has played particularly well and but the Lady Lions have hit enough shots, especially from the free throw line, to make the difference. Both teams have made 10 shots from the field, but Penn State is 10-of-14 from the line while the Panthers are 4-of-6.

Probably most importantly for the Lady Lions, they are winning the battle on the glass, Penn State has outrebounded Pitt 23-19. Obviously, Walker's foul trouble is hurting the Panthers.

The first five minutes of the second half will tell us a lot about this one. Neither team is playing their best game, but for Pitt, great teams find ways to win, so this is their first big test of the season. For the Lady Lions, this game could give them confidence for a potentially strong.

But, great coaches make halftime adjustments, so we'll see what Berenato and Penn State's Coquese Washington do to try and run away with this game.

Although Pitt is down, the panthers do not appear too worried about trailing at the break.

We're about ready to start the second half, once again the score Penn State 31, Pitt 26.

Once again, Penn State leads Pitt 31-26 at the break.

Washington calls a timeout 1:26 into the half with her Lady Lions up 33-30. Mashea Williams scored the first points of the half to extend Penn State's lead to seven, but back-to-back buckets by Pitt's Walker (first points of the game) and Shavonte Zellous cut the Lady Lion lead to three, which is where we stand with 18:34 remaining in the second half, Penn State 33 Pitt 30.

Berenato's message in the locker room must have been to rebound, the panthers have a 7-4 rebounding advantage thus far this half, but the Lady Lions still lead 35-32 with 16:33 remaining.

15:20 to play and Pitt just took its first lead of the game on a Walker hook to make it 36-35 panthers.

14:04 remaining and we've reached the first media timout of the second half and Pitt leads 38-37, but Walker just picked up her fourth foul of the game and will be on the bench for a good while. Penn State's Janessa Wolff will be at the line for two shots and a chance to give the Lady Lions the lead when we return from the timeout.

Penn State's Mashea Williams hits a pair of shots as the shot clock runs out, a driving two and a three from the corner to make it 44-40 Penn State with 11:48 remaining.

I don't know whether it's the Penn State offense trying to burn clock or increased defensive pressure from Pitt, but the Lady Lions are taking the entire 30 seconds to find a good shot.

The Lady Lions may have found the post presence they've been looking for this season. Freshman Janessa Wolff leads the team with 13 points along with 6 rebounds. More importantly, she has shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line and caused Pitt some foul trouble.

8:29 remaining, Walker returns, as Grant drives to the hole, makes a layup and draws a foul. She hit the foul shot to complete the three-point play and the Lady Lions lead 54-48.

The panthers are beginning to heat up from beyond the arc and have hit three triples in the past three minutes of play, wow, that was some alliteration.

Berenato's move to play Walker with four fouls has paid off, she has four points and is at the line trying to complete a three-point play with 7:18 remaining. Penn State leads 58-55.

Penn State's Kam Gissendanner drives to the hole with 6:57 remaining, misses the bucket, but draws a foul on Walker. Her fifth and the All-Big East center is out for the remainder of the game and the Lady Lions lead 60-56. Fellow Lady Lions writer Brian Eller is predicting a "Lady Lions tear" now that Walker is out fo the game.

4:25 remaining and Berenato, Pitt's head coach, huddled her entire bench together while Gissendanner was at the line. Berenato has not been pleased with the officiating at all during this game and is itching for a technical. Timeout on the floor, Penn State leads 64-62 with 3:59 remaining.

3:40 remaining, Penn State's Brianne O'Rourke strips Pitt's Shavonte Zellous, dishes to Williams under the basket to give Penn State a 68-62 lead with 3:18 remaining.

Captain stepping up down the stretch, O'Rourke hits a driving layup with 2:40 to go to put the Lady Lions up by eight, 70-62.

O'Rouke just lost the handle on the ball, dove to keep it alive and called a timeout. But as she got up she was holding her taped wrist and grimacing in pain.

Pitt receives the ball after an alternate possession call, but throws it out of bounds to give the Lady Lions the ball with 1:04 remaining and a six-point lead, 70-64. I have a feeling we're about to witness the everlasting final-minute fouling from the panthers.

O'Rourke at the line with 58.7 seconds left, drains both, 72-64 Penn State.

50.9 seconds left, Pitt's Mallorie Winn drains a three to make it 72-67 Lady Lions.

Wolff misses the first, hits the second. 73-67 Penn State.

Pitt's Jania Sims hits a driving layup with xx to go to make it 73-69 Penn State.

The Lady Lions find Tyra Grant streaking down the court all alone for an easy bucket, 75-69 Penn State.

29.6 seconds left, Pitt's Taneisha Harrison makes a layup to cut the lead to 75-71 in favor of Penn State.

50.9 seconds left, Pitt's Mallorie Winn drains a three to make it 72-67 Lady Lions. Panthers immediately foul Wolff.

O'Rourke hits a pair of free throws to make the lead six, but Winn answers with another three, 77-74 Lady Lions, 18.9 to play, Mashea Williams at the line.

Williams makes one, 78-74 Penn State with 18.9 remaining, no timeouts left for the panthers.

Pitt's Jania Sims has just joined Walker on the bench after committing her fifth foul. Gissendanner goes to the line. Hits both to make it 80-74 Penn State, 9.9 left. O'Rourke grabs a Winn miss and that's it. Final score from the BJC, Penn State 80, No. 20 Pitt 74.

The all-tournament team and MVP have been announced.
All-Tournament Team:

Shavonte Zellous - G, Pitt
Jania Sims - G, Pitt
Mashea Williams - G, Penn State
Tyra Grant - G, Penn State
Ashley Whisonant - G, Arizona

MVP: Brianne O'Rourke - G, Penn State

Stat of the game, Pitt finished 7-of-9 from the foul line, Penn State shot 34-of-41

Quotables from the press conference:

Pitt head coach Agnus Berenato in reference to Walker's foul trouble: "We didn't have our best game but I think penn state had something to do with that. It's tough to play when my big girl plays 13 minutes."

Aight, well that's all for the WBCA classic, and let me tell ya something, the Lady Lions showed some moxie today. They were tired playing their third game in three days, but they came out, got a lead and did what they had to do to hold on against a legit top-20 team.

There was balanced scoring ( five Penn State players in double figures) and O'Rourke turned it on when she had to down the stretch with the clutch steal and some big shots. It was a total team effort and anyone of four Lady Lions (O'Rourke, Grant, Gissendanner or Williams) could have been selected MVP, but it was the junior point guard's 14.7 point, 6.3 assist and 1.7 steal average that earned her the hardware.

This was a huge win for Coquese Washington's team and it'll be interesting to see where the Lady Lions go from here.

That's it from the BJC, hope you had as much fun as I did, talk to you down the road.

-- Wible

Hello Lady Lion fans and welcome to day two of the 2007 WBCA Classic. First off, I would like to apologize for last night's entry. My internet connection failed on me and I was unable to update on the game. But we are back tonight and here to take you step by step through tonight's matchup between the Penn State Lady Lions and the Charlotte 49ers.

Last night the Lady Lions defeated the Arizona Wildcats 87-78. Four Lady Lion starters ended up in double figures, and Penn State used an early second half rally to earn its first victory of the season.

Action in tonight's game is under way, and right now the score is knotted at three.. More action to come later.

8:10 left in the 1st half- Charlotte 22, PSU 21

An exciting matchup so far here in game 4 of the WBCA Classic. Penn State fell behing early, and is shooting an abysmal 29 percent. Thanks to an excellent contribution from freshman Janessa Wolff, who has 6 points and 3 rebounds, the Lady Lions are just one point away.

Halftime- PSU 37, Charlotte 37

The score is tied, and the majority of the stats are too. Penn State is led by junior guard Brianne O'Rourke who has 10 points, while 49ers center Danielle Burgin has 12. Here are some more halftime stats from both teams...

Points: PSU 37, Charlotte 37
Rebounds: PSU 24, Charlotte 22
Assists: PSU 7, Charlotte 6
Turnovers: PSU 8, Charlotte 4
Field Goal %: PSU 46.9%, Charlotte 34.1%
3-point %: PSU 0.0%, Charlotte 22.2%

10:54 left in the 2nd half- PSU 55, Charlotte 47

The Lady Lions have come out of the gate with a little more energy than the 49ers. Tyra Grant has gotten into some foul trouble, and head coach Coquese Washington is keeping her players fresh with multiple subs throughout the half. On the defensive side of the ball, Penn State is still having trouble containing Charlotte's Danielle Burgin. The center has 17 points to go along with six rebounds.

Hello Lady Lion fans and welcome to the Bryce Jordan Center-the site of the 2007 WBCA Classic. If you're a women's basketball fans then this is your weekend, as over the next three days four teams will compete to kick off the season. For your Lady Lions, Penn State will kick off their part in the tournament tonight at 7:30 with a match against Arizona. I'm Brian Eller, and I'll be keeping you up to date with everything happening here at the BJC this weekend.

6:06 pm

While the Lady Lions are getting ready to kick off their season, Pittsburgh and Charlotte are in the middle of a close one. The Panthers currently lead the 49ers 41-36, with just under 16 minutes left to play in the 2nd half. I would say there's about 200 people here right now, but as Arizona's squad sits down to catch some of the action, that brings the number up to a congested 210.

7:02

Alright Penn State fans, game one of the WBCA Classic has ended, with Pittsburgh defeating Charlotte 85-68. It was close until the second half, when Pitt took charge and extended its lead from one to 18. The 49ers battled back to cut the lead to eight, before the Panthers quickly closed the door with an 8-0 run.

Arizona is on the floor now, warming up with its match Penn State. The Lady Lions defeated intrastate rival Millersville 82-41 in an exhibition match last week.

As Penn State coach Coquese Washington makes her debut for the Lady Lions, the crowd is still filling in. Washington looks sharp, sporting an all-black blazer, as she takes a seat while the players continue their warmups.

Just heard the National Anthem...and it looks like that will be the last thing I'll ever hear.

15:26 left in 1st half- Arizona 9, PSU 8

First media timeout, and so far it's neck and neck. Kam Gissendanner and Mashea Williams lead the Lady Lions with four points each, and so far I'd say it looks like Penn State has been the more aggreseive team. They've already drawn three fouls, and it looks like we're going to hear a little "left, right, left, right" action later on tonight.

13:39 left in the 1st half- Arizona 15, PSU 13

Tyra Grant has made her first appearnce into the game for the Lady Lions as Arizona takes a timeout.

6:11 left in the 1st half- PSU 29, Arizona 22

Momentum has officially shifted to the Lady Lions, as Arizona is forced to take another timeout. It seems as though the four-guard formation is paying off for the Lady Lions, as all five starters are on the scoreboard.

It's mystery box time at the BJC. WIll the little boy take the mystery box??

HE DID!!!!!!! HE TOOK IT!!!!!!!

So it's finally gametime for the Lady Lions (sorry Millersville) and this weekend should at least be action-packed, if nothing else. With three games in three days, we should learn a lot about the Lady Lions.

By the way, big props to head coach Coquese Washington, making her head-coaching debut on the bench for the Lady Lions. Washington has had success almost everywhere she's been, playing at Notre Dame, playing in the WNBA and being an assistant for the Irish. Washington has brought a new feel to the program and I'm interested in seeing how the players react to her style.

The Arizona matchup is an interesting one because the Wildcats weren't exactly world-beaters last year but have 6-foot-6 center Suzy Bofia. And considering only four Penn State men's players are taller than 6-foot-6, she could cause a lot of trouble for the young Lady Lion post.

Saturday the Lady Lions face Charlotte, picked to finish second in Conference USA. It'll be interesting to see if the Penn State starters show any sign of fatigue. And I'm sure this game should be more exciting than the football game in Philly.

Finally, intrastate rival Pitt comes to town Sunday afternoon. And while this rivalry may have lost some of its luster, especially on the hardwood, it's always nice to be able to talk smack to your friends living in Oakland. Then again, considering Pitt isn't even in the same class as Penn State, should Lion fans really take enjoyment in beating the Panthers? Yea, you're right, it always feels good to beat Pitt.

On the health front, sophomore guard Meggan Quinn has been cleared to play this weekend. She is recovering from ACL and MCL tears and should see some limited minutes Saturday night.

Well, that's what I've got for now, if your Lady Lions' itch is not fully scratched, check back for more updates during the weekend.

- Wible