STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ¨C The Penn State women¡¯s basketball team has released its schedule for the 2002-03 season which is highlighted by an appearance in the prestigious Preseason National Women¡¯s Invitational Tournament.
The Lady Lions will tip off the regular season on Fri., Nov. 15 when they host in-state rival Bucknell in a first round WNIT tilt beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center. The winner of the Penn State-Bucknell match up will advance to the second round of the single-elimination tournament on Sun., Nov. 17 versus the winner of the first-round game between Siena and Syracuse. The semifinals and championship game of the 2002 WNIT will be played on Nov. 20 and Nov. 24 respectively. All WNIT games will be played on home campus sites, which are determined after each round. ¡°We are excited to have the opportunity to play in the Preseason WNIT,¡± Lady Lion head coach Rene Portland said. ¡°It will give our team the opportunity to gain some solid early season tournament experience against national competition which will help prepare us for postseason play and the always challenging Big Ten Conference schedule.¡± Penn State, which posted a 11-5 mark in Big Ten play during the 2001-02 season, will open league action on Thursday, Jan. 2 when it travels to Madison, Wis., to battle Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. (CT). The Lady Lions will play its first conference home game on Mon., Jan. 6 against Minnesota. The game will feature a match up of the league¡¯s top two scorers from 2001-02 in Penn State¡¯s Kelly Mazzante (Montoursville, Pa.) and Minnesota¡¯s Lindsey Whalen. Other Big Ten squads making a trip to the Bryce Jordan Center in 2002-03 include Iowa (Jan .9), Michigan State (Jan. 19), Ohio State (Jan. 30), Indiana (Feb. 2), Purdue (Feb. 13), Michigan (Feb. 20) and Wisconsin (March 2). The Lady Lions will embark on a trip to the West Coast on Dec. 28-30 when they take part in the Surf & Slam Tournament hosted by the University of San Diego. Penn State will face Kent State in its tourney opener on Dec. 28 before meeting either Nebraska or host school San Diego on Dec. 30. Penn State will make treks to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to take on Pittsburgh on Dec. 14 and Villanova on Jan. 23. A meeting with Old Dominion is another of the highlights of the non-conference schedule as the Lady Lions will host the Lady Monarchs at the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 21. The game will be a rematch of last season¡¯s overtime tussle which saw Old Dominion out-last the Lady Lions 84-80. Road trips to Clemson (Dec. 7) and Louisiana State (Jan. 4) are other notable contests on the Penn State non-conference slate. The Lady Lions are scheduled to face a minimum of 10 teams that qualified for the 2002 NCAA Tournament in 2002-03 and currently hold a combined all-time mark of 237-93 (.718) versus its guaranteed opponents. Penn State returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last season¡¯s squad, which finished 23-12 overall and advanced to the Mideast Regional Semifinal of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
2002-03 Penn State Women¡¯s Basketball Schedule November Sun. 10 Basketball Travelers (Exhibition) State College, Pa. 2:00 p.m. Fri. 15 Bucknell (1st Round WNIT) ^ State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Sun. 17 WNIT Second Round (Siena/Syracuse winner) ^ TBA TBA Wed. 20 WNIT Semifinals ^ TBA TBA Fri. 22 at Fairfield Fairfield, Conn. 7:00 p.m. Sun. 24 WNIT Championship ^ TBA TBA December Wed. 4 Maryland State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Sat. 7 at Clemson Clemson, S.C. 7:00 p.m. Tues. 10 St. Joseph¡¯s State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Sat. 14 at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pa. 2:00 p.m. Sat. 28 vs. Kent State # San Diego, Calif. 6:00 p.m. Mon. 30 vs. Nebraska/Univ. of San Diego # San Diego, Calif. TBA January Thurs. 2 at Wisconsin* Madison, Wis. 7:00 p.m. Sat. 4 at Louisiana State Baton Rouge, La. 11:00 a.m. Mon. 6 Minnesota* State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Thurs. 9 Iowa* State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Sun. 12 at Northwestern* Evanston, Ill. 2:00 p.m. Thurs. 16 at Purdue* West Lafayette, Ind. 7:00 p.m. Sun. 19 Michigan State* State College, Pa. 2:00 p.m. Tues. 21 Old Dominion State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Thurs. 23 at Villanova Philadelphia, Pa. 7:30 p.m. Sun. 26 at Michigan* Ann Arbor, Mich. 5:00 p.m. Thurs. 30 Ohio State* State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. February Sun. 2 Indiana* State College, Pa. 2:00 p.m. Thurs. 6 at Illinois* Champaign, Ill. 7:00 p.m. Sun. 9 at Michigan State* East Lansing, Mich. 2:00 p.m. Thurs. 13 Purdue* State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Sun. 16 at Iowa* Iowa City, Iowa 2:00 p.m. Thurs. 20 Michigan* State College, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Sun. 23 at Minnesota* Minneapolis, Minn. 2:00 p.m. March Sun. 2 Wisconsin* State College, Pa. 2:00 p.m. Thurs.-Mon. 6-10 Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind. TBA
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