Basketball: Women's
No. 4 seed Penn State vs. No. 1 seed Connecticut: A quick preview
Here’s all the basic information you need to know for the No. 4 seed Lady Lions’ game against No. 1 seed Connecticut today at 4:34 in Kingston, R.I.
The tale of the tape
Penn State is 26-6 (13-3 in the Big Ten). It won the Big Ten’s regular season crown before bowing out of the Big Ten Tournament in the semifinals to Purdue. The Lady Lions downed Texas El-Paso and LSU en route to the Sweet 16, scoring an average of 87.5 points per game.
Connecticut is 31-4 (13-3 in the Big East). It won the Big East Tournament. The Huskies defeated Prairie View A&M and Kansas State to get to the Sweet 16, allowing an average of 36.5 points per game.
The lineups
Penn State
Jr. G Alex Bentley (First Team All-Big Ten, 14.3 PPG, 4.8 APG)
Soph. G Maggie Lucas (First Team All-Big Ten, 19.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, .418 3FG% .894 FT%)
Sr. G Zhaque Gray (10.7 PPG)
RS Jr. F Mia Nickson (8.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG)
Jr. C Nikki Greene (Third Team All-Big Ten, 10.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG)
6th: Soph. F Ariel Edwards (7.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG)
Coach: Coquese Washington
Connecticut
Sr. G Tiffany Hayes (First Team All-Big East, 14.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, .510 FG%)
RS Jr. G Caroline Doty (5.1 PPG)
Soph. G Bria Hartley (First Team All-Big East, 13.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG)
Jr. G Kelly Faris (6.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG)
Soph. C Stefanie Dolson (10.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG)
6th: Fr. F Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (15.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG .808 FT%)
Coach: Geno Auriemma
The statistics
Penn State
7th in NCAA in PPG (76.2)
178th in overall defense (allows 62.0 PPG)
16th in scoring margin (plus-14.2)
Connecticut
6th in NCAA in PPG (76.3)
1st in overall defense (allows 45.1 PPG)
1st in scoring margin (plus-31.2)
The history
Penn State is 3-6 all-time against UConn. The Lady Lions lost their most recent matchup to the Huskies on December 14, 2008. Coquese Washington is 0-1 against Auriemma as a head coach, and 4-6 as an assistant. Auriemma has seven national championships.