MT. WOLF, Pa. -- Well, road troubles continue to plague the Lady Lions.

After failing to win a Big Ten road game all of last season, Penn State droppd its first conference tilt away from Happy Valley with Friday's 67-58 loss at Iowa.

Iowa guards Kristi Smith and Johanna Solverson lead the Hawkeyes with 19 and 16 points respectively and helped Iowa gain a 10-point halftime advantage,

Kam Gissendanner led the Lady Lions with 17 points and nine rebounds. Freshman forward Janessa Wolff registered her first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and junior point guard Brianne O'Rourke also finished in double figures with 14 points to go along with four assists.

However, Penn State wasn't able to overcome its 23 turnovers and 33.3 percent shooting.

The loss drops the Lady Lions to 9-4, 0-1 in the Big Ten and propels Iowa to 8-4, 1-0 in conference play.

Penn State returns home at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 2 to take on Illinois in the Lady Lions' Big Ten home opener.

-- Wible

MT. WOLF, Pa. -- It feels like forever since the Lady Lions (9-3) have taken the court (it's actually been 3 days), but they will begin Big Ten-play at 8:05 Friday night at Iowa (7-4).

Penn State is 10-5 all-time in both Big Ten season Big Ten road openers.

The Lady Lions might feel like they're entering a forest in Iowa City. Six of the Hawkeyes top seven scorers are 6-foot-2 or taller.

Six-foot-2 junior forward Wendy Ausdemore leads the team with 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. While 5-foot-6 junior guard Kristi Smith also averages double-digits with 11 points and 3.2 assists every time out.

Standing in the middle of the Hawkeye defense is 6-foot-6 junior center Megan Skouby who averages 9.4 points, 3.3 boards and 1 block per game.

It might prove to be a battle of styles between Iowa's inside-oriented offense and Penn State's perimeter scoring.

A win here could give the Lady Lions momentum to build for a run at the conference crown and an NCAA birth, a loss won't ruin Penn State's chances, but the Lady Lions must learn to win on the road if they want to continue to improve and return the program to mid-90s form.

-- Wible

Howdy yall,

I know its been awhile and I apologize, finals, formals and such, but anyway, there's been some Lady Lion action as of late.

Saturday night, Penn State made the scenic trip down cow-laden route 45 and reminded everyone of its central Pennsylvania dominance as the Lady Lions upended the Bucknell Bison 64-55 in front of a hostile crowd in Lewisburg.

Tyra Grant led the Lady Lions with a game-high 20 points and Mashea Williams notched her first career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Grants 20 points against the Bison, coupled with her 24 points against Ole Miss on Thursday earned her Big Ten Player of the Week honors.

The scoring rampage has put the sophomore over the 600-point plateau for her Penn State career.

She finished the week averaging 22 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2 blocks.

The Lady Lions now get their longest layoff of the season before returning to action on Dec. 28 for the Big Ten-opener at Iowa.

We'll be keeping you up-to-date on the latest Lady Lions action during break. Check back for updates from bustling York, Pa, it should be thrilling.

Cheers,

-- Wible

Hello there Lady Lions fans and welcome to the final home non-conference game of the 2007 season, as your beloved Penn State Lady Lions take on the Rebels of Mississippi. It's early here at the BJC, but with sloppy conditions outside, and finals week swooping in fast, I don't expect there to be many people here, which puts even more pressure on yours truly to keep you up to date with the most accurate and semi-witty commentary I can.

I accept the challenge.

The Lady Lions come into tonight's match after a truly painful game to watch last Sunday against Georgetown. What looked on paper to be a great defensive matchup was really a showcase of airballs, bricks, and turnovers. The Lady Lions got the victory, however, improving their record to 7-3. An interesting statistic actually, Penn State boasts four players in the Top 20 in scoring in the Big Ten, the only team in the conference that can say that.

Im off to grab some food. I'll have more Lady Lion action to come. Youre reading the Coquestioner, and I'm Brian Eller. Keep it locked.

Starting lineups for both teams:

Penn State:

1 Tyra Grant
3 Brianne O'Rourke
5 Mashea Williams
24 Rashida Mark
25 Kam Gissendanner

Ole Miss:

10 Carla Bartee
11 Shantell Black
14 Elizabeth Robertson
20 Kayla Melson
35 Shawn Goff

15:41 left in the 1st half: Ole Miss 6, PSU 5

Well we are off and running here at the BJC. Pretty much back and forth so far, with Brianne O'Rourke leading the way with three points. Some sloppy turnovers on offense have helped Ole Miss take the lead, but Penn State is playing a tight man-to-man defense. Will it keep the Rebels in check????

11:41 left in the 1st half: PSU 17, Ole Miss 13

Some offensive momentum has seem to fall into the hands of the Lady Lions since my last post. Tyra Grant is finding herself open a lot down low, and is making the tough shots to help give Penn State the early 4 point lead.

7:37 left in the 1st half: Ole Miss 25, PSU 24

The Rebels have made quite a comeback, capitalizing off of some costly turnovers by the Lady Lions. Head coach Coquese Washington has inserted both Janessa Wolff and Evelyn Lewis, probably in an attempt to grab the rebounds on the defensive side of the ball. The problem is though, Ole Miss hasnt missed a shot in over three minutes.

Halftime: PSU 38, Ole Miss 36

Well a pretty interesting first half here in Happy Valley. Despite only being up two, the Lady Lions look pretty good. They are getting good, open shots, and although they need to cut back on the turnovers, going into the locker room with a two point lead is something to smile about. Janessa Wolff is doing a great job underneath the hoop, blocking three shots and pulling down every missed shot put up by the Rebels. Tyra Grant is the leading scorer for Penn State, with 14 points. Her career high is 33. For Ole Miss, Shawn Goff leads the way with 8 points.

15:44 left in the 2nd half: Ole Miss 42, PSU 41

Man this game is definitely a tale of two halves. The Lady Lions have come out very sluggish, scoring only three points so far. Shawn Goff has stepped it up for the Rebels this half. She now has a team-leading 12 points, and is a big part in Ole Miss' ability to control the tempo early in the second half.

11:59 left in the 2nd half: PSU 50, Ole Miss 49

After taking what looked like a nasty spill, Penn State guard Mashea Williams heads to the bench appeared to be in a quite a bit of pain. The Lady Lions have been able to find the hoop a little more often, and now have a one point lead with the Rebels beginning to get into some foul trouble.

7:57 left in the 2nd half: PSU 63, Ole Miss 59

Tyra Grant has taken over this game for the Lady Lions, scoring their last four points and registering 20 on the night. Penn State is aready in the bonus, and with the Lady Lion offense continuing to heat up, it looks like the Rebels will have to bring their A game the rest of the way. Fortunately for Ole Miss, its three point shooting has gotten better as of late, as what was once an eight point lead for the Lady Lions is now down to four. Good news for Penn State, however, is that Mashea Williams is ok, and is currently in the game.

3:58 left in the 2nd half: PSU 71, Ole Miss 67

Well folks, this will be the last post for this game. I hate to leave you hanging, but duty calls. Lets see if the Lady Lions can finish this game off.

Howdy yall, it's Wible again coming at ya from press row at the Bryce Jordan Center for today's Lady Lion game against Georgetown. This game raises some questions, such as can Penn State bounce back from Thursday's lackluster 72-53 loss at Syracuse and continue to play like world beaters at home? Another question I have is what exactly is a Hoya? Georgetown's mascot is a bulldog, so why aren't they the bulldogs? More on this later.

An interesting central Pennsylvania sidenote, this game is drawing a lot of attention in York County, Pa. Penn State's Meggan Quinn and Georgetown's Meredith Cox were York County high school stars and battle for York Area Interscholastic Athletic Association titles on more than one occasion, with Quinn's Red Lion team always coming out on top.

Back to today's game, here are your starting lineups

Penn State

G - #1 Tyra Grant
G - #3 Brianna O'Rourke
G - #5 Mashea Williams
G - #25 Kam Gissendanner
F - #24 Rashida Mark

Georgetown

G - #2 Kristin Heidloff
G - #11 Brina Pollack
G - #22 Kenya Kirkland
F - #44 Kieraah Marlow
C - #54 Aminata Diop (6-foot5)

16:10 to go first half

PSU 6 Georgetown 5

We've got a screamer. Georgetown's Shanice Fuller is very "vocal" on the floor and I bet you can hear her screams all the way in Bellefonte. On the basketball front, Penn State is a doing a better job attacking Georgetown's zone than it did on Thursday night. The Lady Lions settled for outside shots, but so far this game only two of Penn State's eight shots have been from the land of 3.

12:16 to go first half

PSU 8 G-Town 8

Is the BJC leaking? We just had a 30-second timeout turn into about a three or four minute stopage because of excess moisture in front of the Hoyas' bench. Maybe the bulldog's drolling a little too much.

11:16 to go first half

Still tied at 8

I have found the answer to my pressing question, and all I can say is, 'Wow'

According to the Gerogetown athletic website (http://guhoyas.cstv.com/trads/gu-hoya.html):

"Many years ago, when all Georgetown students were required to study Greek and Latin, the University's teams were nicknamed "The Stonewalls." It is suggested that a student, using Greek and Latin terms, started the cheer "Hoya Saxa!", which translates into "What Rocks!" The name proved popular and the term "Hoyas" was eventually adopted for all Georgetown teams."

7:42 to go first half

PSU 19 G-Town 15

Big props to fellow Lady Lions writer Brian Eller. During three straight trips down the court, he kept commenting how open Quinn was beyond the arc. Williams must have heard him because she found Quinn open on the wing duiring Penn State's next position and Quinn promptly nail the trey.

2:30 remaining first half

G-Town 24 PSU 21

Not the most cleanly played half. The Lady Lions have committed nine turnovers and the Hoyas have taken advantage and grabed the lead. Neither team is shooting particularly well, the Lady Lions have connected on only 26.9 percent of their shots while the Hoyas are shooting 34.8 percent from the field.

53.1 to go first half

PSU 29 G-town 24

Just when I opened my big mouth . . . The Lady Lions just went on a mini 8-0 run to retake the lead. Four Rashida Mark foul shots and a pair of Meredith Monroe layups under the basket gave the Lady Lions the lead

Hafltime

PSU 31 G-Town 26

Good finishing two minutes of the half for Penn State give the Lady Lions a five-point lead at the break. More on the game in a moment, but first, it's time for the halftime mascot game and your lineups are:

White Squad

3wz's zippy the zebra
Ike the spike
Grimace
Twisty the Auntie Anne's soft pretzel
Diesel Dog from the Altoona Curve

Blue squad

Rita's Ice Guy
Hamburglar
Subway sub man
Nittany Lion

Blue wins the tip and the Nittany Lion goes drives for an easy layup, 2-0 blue.

Grimace misses the entire backboard at the other end and the Nittany Lion goes coast to coast once again, 4-0 blue.

Not much traveling being called here, the referee must be the mascot for Foot Locker.

Nittany Lion again with an easy layup, 6-0 blue.

Nittany Lion stuffs Ike the Spike, bad

Not much passing going on, almost as bad as And 1 streetball, but these mascots suck, so it's not as much fun.

Another easy layup for the Nittany Lion, 8-0 blue.

Followed by a steal and another layup for the Nittany Lion, 10-0 blue. I'm sensing a trend here.

Finally, a non-feline scores as the Sub Guy puts one in from about 2 feet away, 12-0 blue.

Can you say posterized? The Nittany Lion just dunked on Grimace and if you thought Vince Carter's dunk over that tall dude in the Olympics was impressive, wait until you see a mountain lion dunk on a giant ball of purple fur that loves milkshakes, 14-0 blue.

Ike the Spike scores to make it reasonable, 14-2 blue.

Nittany lion with another block as the zebra and ref are fighting at midcourt.

The Iceman cometh as the Ice Guy gets a bucket to make it 16-2 blue.

Grimace apparently doesn't like to dribble and is 0-for-10 from the field.

Ike scores again to make the game less of an embarrsement, 16-4 blue.

And finally, the Nittany Lion slams home a breakaway dunk at the buzzer to make the final 18-4 blue.

Nittany Lion stateline: 14 points, 2 blocks, 2 dunks

While the Nittany Lion was by far the best player on the court, the Collegian MVP is Grimace. The big purple dude just did his own thang and kept heaving up shots even though he couldn't hit the broadside of the backboard, literally. And he said "screw you" to the ref and refused to dribble, although maybe he couldn't because of the fact that his body is about seven or eight feet around and his arms are rather short. Whatever the reason, good on him and our MVP is Grimace.

Back to the real game

15:47 to go second half

PSU 33 G-Town 28

S-L-O-P-P-Y, there's no other way to descirbe this game. The teams have combined for 21 turnovers and 31.8 percent shooting from the field. And let me tell ya, it ain't exactly stellar defense, shots aren't falling and passes aren't crisp.

11:52 remaining second half

PSU 39 G-Town 32

The Lady Lions have opened up their lead and will have the ball after the break. Penn State is doing a good job of attacking the basket and getting close looks, because not much is falling from the outside.

7:39 remaining in the game

PSU 42 G-Town 37

I hate to keep harking on it, but this is an ugly game. No Penn State player has made more than three baskets from the field. Kam Gissendanner just registered her third double-double of the season. She has 10 points and 14 rebounds.

3:43 to go in the game

PSU 49 G-Town 41

Just as Penn State started to pull away -- an O'Rourke 3 at the 5:41 mark put the Lady Lions up by 12 -- poor shot selection started to hinder Penn State. Lady Lion coach Coquese Washington was visibly upset with the way her team was playing and called a timeout. Expect to see less running and a more deliberate tempo from the Penn State offense down the stretch.

Final

PSU 56 G-Town 47

Well it wasn't pretty, but it was a win for the Lady Lions. Penn State finished with 16 turnovers, only seven in the second half. The Lady Lions also shot a chilly 30.8 percent from the field. The two teams combined to shoot 13.7 percent from three, Penn State made three treys while the Hoyas only connected on one of their 15 attempts.

The Lady Lions won the battle on the boards and outrebounded Gerogetown 45-38. And once again Penn State made more free throws than its opponent attempted. Penn State shot 21-of-29 from the line, compared to the 10-of-12 effort from the Hoyas.

With the win, Penn State improves to 7-3 and the loss drops Georgetown to 5-2.

Quotes from the post-game press conferences:

Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy about her team's poor shooting night:

"I gotta be honest, I don't think it was anything they did defensively"

Stat of the Game:

Number of Scorers

Penn State: 8
Georgetown: 4

Washington said she was fairly pleased with her team's effort and said the Lady Lions played solid defensively. She said she was also happy her team was able to outrebound the Hoyas.

Regarding the offense, she said the Lady Lions were getting good looks, the shots, "They just didn't fall tonight," she said.

Almost forgot the best quote from Coquese Washington's Wednesday press conference. When asked by a reporter from Syracuse what the biggest transition has been since becoming a head coach Washington responded it was definitely her wardrobe. Flashing a bright smile (which the reporter couldn't see over the phone) she said people pay attention to what she wears now that she's the head honcho. Gotta love a coach with a good sense of humor.

- Wible

Well, the Penn State women's basketball world should be well-recovered from Sunday's upset against No. 11 Duke.

Now it's time to see if the Lady Lions can pack that momentum in their suitcases as they head north to upstate New York to take on Syracuse.

The Orange sport a nifty 5-1 record, but have done most of their damage against ho-hum competition. And by ho-hum, I mean Coppin State, Lehigh, Colgate, Louisiana-Monroe and Eastern Kentucky.

Not exactly a who's who of women's basketball powers, let alone a who's who of pretty much anything, except maybe quasi-cool nicknames? Colonels (what exactly is a Colonel?), Raiders, Mountain Hawks, Warhawks (as in we used to be called "Indians" but had to change our name because the NCAA made us even though we "only used the name respectfully" and several Native American tribes supported us, but the NCAA still didn't care and threatened us with sanctions and the like.), Eagles (kinda lacking after that super duper list.

Last year the Lady Lions pounded Syracuse in Happy Valley, but as Penn State has shown, especially against Old Dominion, the road is not very kind.

Making Thursday's game even more challenging is the fact that it's in the Carrier Dome, the same place Syracuse plays football, so yea, it's kinda big. In fact, it's the largest on campus basketball arena in the country.

The size of the dome makes shooting potentially troublesome because players' depth perception can be off.

The Lady Lions were scheduled to have an extra shoot-around Wednesday night to get adjusted to the arena.

In fact, the arena is so large when sophomore guard Meggan Quinn asked Lady Lion Sports Information Director Kris Peterson just how big the dome was Peterson replied, "It's where they play football, it'd be like playing a game in Beaver Stadium."

Also, with so much snow falling pretty much everywhere along the route to Syracuse, the trek could be tough. Perhaps the Lady Lions would have been better suited taking teams of sled dogs, but those tough upstate New Yorkers treat snow like the Irish treat whiskey, they can't get enough and brush anything less than three feet off as simply flurries.

With so many outside factors, Thursday game could be a tricky challenge, or the proverbial "trap game." But the Lady Lions definitely have more talent and should notched their second road victory of the season, which would equal their total from all of last season.

Well, I gotta go shovel myself out of my apartment so I can get to class. Enjoy the game, and hopefully I'll be talking to you sooner rather than later.

Stay safe, stay dry and stay classy

- Wible

Good afternoon from the Bryce Jordan Center, and welcome to another installment of Penn State women's basketball. I'm Tom Copain, and I'll be taking through the action this afternoon, as Penn State basketball will be featured on national TV for the second time in a week. Wednesday night, the men's team hosted Virginia Tech, and today the Lady Lions get their chance against the No. 11 Duke Blue Devils.

Both Penn State and Duke will be looking to bounce back from losses earlier in the week as both squads take a 5-2 record into the game. The Lady Lions look to bounce back from their worst loss of the young season, a 77-49 defeat Thursday at Old Dominion where Penn State had more turnovers (30) then they did field goals (20).
The Blue Devils are at the end of a strenuous five game road trip that included the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, USVI. Duke has lost two in a row coming in, a 74-48 loss to Connecticut in the Paradise Jam final, and a 68-55 loss at Vanderbilt last Wednesday.

It's a good size crowd for the Lady Lions, especially considering the poor weather conditions around the area this weekend.

Starting Lineups
Duke
#15 Bridgette Mitchell - F
#30 Carrem Gay - F
#11 Chante Black - C
#2 Emily Waner - G
#4 Abby Waner - G

Penn State
#1 Tyra Grant - G
#3 Brianne O'Rourke - G
#5 Mashea Williams - G
#25 Kam Gissendanner - G
#24 Rashida Mark - F

15:39 left in the First Half - Penn State 9, Duke 7
After a slow start, the Lady Lions have come on strong and lead the Blue Devils early in what has been a bit of a sloppy game on both sides. Brianne O'Rourke leads Penn State with four points, but the Lady Lions continue to have problems early boxing out and rebounding. Duke is already in foul trouble, as Bridgette Mitchell already has two fouls and is sitting on the Blue Devil bench.

12:47 left - Penn State 17, Duke 10
The Lady Lions have gone on a mini-run and have opened up a seven point lead on the Blue Devils and gotten the crowd involved in the proceedings early. O'Rourke continues to lead Penn State with six points, tied for the game-high with Chante Black of Duke.

7:34 left - Penn State 29, Duke 18
Penn State has used strong shooting and capitalized off of Duke turnovers to build a double-digit lead. Penn State is shooting 50 percent from the field, including 75 percent from three.
The Lady Lions have also cut down on the turnovers, which was a major focus point after having 30 Thursday night. In fact they haven't committed one yet, while the Blue Devils have committed six.

3:59 left - Penn State 33, Duke 25
The Blue Devils have cut the lead down to eight thanks to six offensive rebounds and also a Penn State going cold from the field. Penn State continues to get balance offensively as it has all year. Eight points from O'Rourke, six from Tyra Grant, six from Gissendanner and also a combined nine points off the bench from Meggan Quinn and Janessa Wolff.

Halftime - Penn State 41, Duke 30
After Duke cuts the lead to six late, the Lady Lions score the last five points of the half on a three from Gissendanner and a late jumper from Williams to rebuild the 11-point lead at the half and leave to a standing ovation from the crowd here at the BJC.
The Lady Lions have come out with a much better performance than their last outing Thursday at Old Dominion, although the shooting has cooled down since the beginning of the game. Penn State struggled with rebounding and turnovers against Old Dominion Thursday night, and the team has improved on both so far today. The rebounds are 19-18 in favor of Duke, and Penn State has only turned it over five times to 10 by the Blue Devils.

16:45 left in the Second Half - Penn State 46, Duke 40
Once again, the Blue Devils continue to stick around, cutting the lead back down to six and forcing a Penn State timeout. The latest Duke run was sparked by Abby Waner who had a breakaway lay-up and also had two steals early in the half thanks to sloppy passing by the Lady Lions early in the half.

11:51 left - Penn State 58, Duke 53
Penn State has already committed four turnovers in the half, and Duke has fought back into the game thanks to Abby Waner, who has eight of her seventeen points in the half, and the Blue Devils are 3-4 from the three point line in the half. The last 12 minutes should be interesting considering the Lady Lions have had trouble closing teams out so far this season.

7:44 left - Penn State 62, Duke 63
Duke has finally clawed all the way back and taken the lead, mostly due to an opportunistic defense that has capitalized on seven Lady Lion turnovers in the second half and also shooting 83 percent from three in the second half. Abby Waner has 20 in the game, 11 in this half, while Brianne O'Rourke, Kam Gissendanner, and Tyra Grant have been pretty quiet in the half. Mashea Williams has kept the Lady Lions in it, scoring 12 of her 18 points in the second half.

3:06 left - Penn State 74, Duke 75
It's been back and forth the last four minutes. O'Rourke has picked it up as well as Williams, who has 16 in the second half and 20 for the game. Tyra Grant finally scored for the first time in the second half.

2:24 left - Penn State 76, Duke 75
This will probably be the last post of the afternoon. Tyra Grant has scored the last four points to put the Lady Lions ahead after being held scoreless for the whole half. Abby Waner has been held in check for the last few minutes for Duke, but Chante Black has picked up the pace inside, and she has 21 for the game.