2009-10 Season in Review GRANT PICKED IN WNBA DRAFT: Senior guard Tyra Grant was selected by the defending WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury in the second round of the 2010 WNBA Draft. Grant, the 24th overall pick, is the 12th Lady Lion to be selected in the WNBA Draft and is the first since Amanda Brown was picked with the 38th selection in the 2007 draft. LIONS BACK IN THE POSTSEASON: The Lady Lions returned to the postseason after a five-year absence to make their 23rd overall appearance (21 NCAA; 2 WNIT). Penn State is 30-22 all-time in postseason games (NCAA or WNIT). It was the second all-time WNIT berth for Penn State. In their only other WNIT appearance, the Lady Lions won the inaugural WNIT in 1998 with wins over Villanova, St. Joseph’s, Indiana and Baylor. GRANT JOINS 2,000-POINT CLUB: Senior guard Tyra Grant became the fourth player in school history to reach the 2,000-point plateau with 32 tallies in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal against Iowa on March 5. Grant joins Kelly Mazzante, Susan Robinson and Kahadeejah Herbert in the elite group. Grant is also the 14th player in Big Ten history to accomplish the feat. She finished her career third in school history with 2,044 tallies. GRANT CLAIMS SECOND FIRST TEAM HONOR: For the second consecutive season, senior guard Tyra Grant took home All-Big Ten first team accolades from both the coaches and media. She is the eighth Lady Lion to garner multiple All-Big Ten first team selections, joining Tina Nicholson (1994, 1995, 1996), Angie Potthoff (1995, 1996, 1997), Helen Darling (1999, 2000), Andrea Garner (1999, 2000), Maren Walseth (2000, 2001), Kelly Mazzante (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) and Tanisha Wright (2003, 2004, 2005). Grant was an All-Big honorable mention choice each of her first two seasons in Happy Valley. BENTLEY EARNS ALL-BIG TEN ACCOLADES: Guard Alex Bentley was rewarded for a stellar rookie campaign with Big Ten postseason honors. Bentley was selected to the All-Big Ten third team by the coaches and was All-Big Ten honorable mention pick by the media. Additionally, she was a unanimous choice for the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Bentley is the ninth Penn State rookie to earn Big Ten AllFreshman team accolades, joining Helen Darling (1997), Lisa Shepherd (1998), Maren Walseth (1998), Kelly Mazzante (2001), Jess Strom (2002), Reicina Russell (2004), Brianne O’Rourke (2006) and Tyra Grant (2007).
GRANT BREAKS FREEBIES RECORDS: Senior Tyra Grant broke Penn State’s singleseason free throws made and free throws attempted records this year. Grant’s 176 free throws made breaks the previous record of 161 set by Susan Robinson during the 1989-90 season. Grant attempted 223 freebies last year, which passed the mark set by Kahadeejah Herbert in 1984-85 (210). TY TALLIES 32 AT BIG TENS: Tyra Grant notched her fourth career 30-point game with 32 points on 11-for-23 shooting in the Big Ten quarterfinal against Iowa on March 5. It was the fourth 30-point performance of Grant’s career, which is tied for third all-time, and her third against the Hawkeyes. GRANT 6TH ON SINGLE-SEASON LIST: Senior guard Tyra Grant climbed in the Top 10 on Penn State’s single-season scoring chart with a pair of solid performances in the Big Ten Tournament. Grant’s 597 points are the sixthhighest single-season total in school history. She also owns the 10th-best mark with 567 points during the 2008-09 campaign. ALEX ON ROOKIE SCORING AND ASSIST LISTS: Freshman Alex Bentley finished her rookie season sixth on Penn State’s freshman season scoring list with 365 points. She also finished fifth on the Lady Lions’ freshman assists list with 125 helpers. NIKKI IN SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS CHART: Freshman Nikki Greene finished the year ninth on Penn State’s single-season blocks list with 55 rejections. She is also just the second freshman to have more than 50 blocks in a season, joining Reicina Russell (2003-04). Greene is also second on Penn State’s freshman season blocks list. Additionally, she sits in fourth place on Penn State’s freshman season rebounding list with 192 caroms. TY TABBED NAISMITH SEMIFINALIST: Senior guard Tyra Grant was one of 30 mid-season candidates for the 2010 Women’s Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T, which was announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Grant was one of four Big Ten players on the mid-season list, joining Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender and Samantha Prahalis and Illinois’ Jenna Smith. This was the second consecutive season that Grant has been a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy.
WOLFE IS WILD FOR BIG TEN HONOR: Freshman forward Marisa Wolfe turned in the best performance of her young career against Michigan on Feb. 18 and was honored by the conference office as the Feb. 22 Big Ten Freshman of the Week. The rookie set career highs with 13 points and six rebounds off the bench. Wolfe was 5-for-7 from the field, both of which were personal bests. Her previous career high was 10 points at Northwestern (1/3/10) and five rebounds, which she accumulated on three occasions last year. EXTRA TIME: The Lady Lions played their fourth overtime game of the season in a 71-65 win over Michigan on Feb. 18. It was the third overtime win of the season for the Lady Lions, marking the first time since the 1997-98 campaign that Penn State has won three games in extra time. The Michigan game also marked the first time in school history that the Lady Lions have played four overtime games in a season. The Lady Lions earned a 77-71 win over Indiana on Jan. 10 and the 77-73 victory over Iowa on Dec. 28, but dropped an 80-76 decision against Purdue on Jan. 28. PRESSURING THE BALL: Penn State forced Ohio State into 18 first-half turnovers and 25 for the game in a tough loss to the nationally-ranked Buckeyes on Feb. 7. It is the most turnovers by a Lady Lion opponent since Bucknell had 30 turnovers on Dec. 9, 2008. The Lady Lions also notched a season-high 15 steals on the game, marking the first time since Dec. 21, 2008 against Michigan State that Penn State nabbed 15 thefts. GRANT FINALIST FOR LOWE’S AWARD: Senior Tyra Grant was among the 10 finalists for the women’s basketball Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. She earned second team Lowe’s Senior CLASS All-America honors, becoming the first Lady Lion to do so since Amanda Brown in 200607. The award honors student-athletes who excel on and off the court and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition. TWO WITH 25+: Freshman guard Alex Bentley and senior guard Tyra Grant scored 27 and 26 points, respectively, in the Jan. 28 overtime loss to Purdue. It was the first time since Jan. 9, 2003 that the Lady Lions have had two players score 25 points or more in a game. In that game, Kelly Mazzante tallied 37 points and Tanisha Wright had 27 in an 86-56 win over Iowa.
WIN MARKS: The Lady Lions’ 17 overall wins and eight conference wins are the most by a Penn State team since the 2004-05 campaign. The 2004-05 squad was 19-11 overall and 13-3 in Big Ten play.
2010-11 Penn State Lady Lion Basketball Yearbook
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