University of Delaware Athletics
National Rankings on the Line Thursday Night as Delaware Women's Basketball Hosts No. 11 Penn State at the Bob Carpenter Center
11/16/2011 10:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. – A women's college basketball game with national ranking implications hits the Bob Carpenter Center Thursday night, Nov. 17, as the University of Delaware, coming off en emphatic season-opening victory last week, hosts undefeated and No. 11 ranked Penn State at 7 p.m.
Great seats are still available for one of the most anticipated regular season home games in Blue Hen women's basketball history. Delaware has earned votes in both Associated Press Top 25 polls this season and the Nittany Lions, the pre-season favorite to capture the Big 10 title, are the highest ranked team ever to visit The Bob.
For ticket information, call 302-831-2257 or visit www.bluehens.com. Tickets are also available at the door the night of the game.
In addition to earning votes in the AP Top 25, Delaware is also ranked No. 6 in this week's Collegeinsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 this week. The Hens trail only No. 1 Green Bay, No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 3 Princeton, No. 4 Marist and Toledo. The ranking is the highest ever for the Blue Hens in the poll.
“This will be a great challenge for our program and our team but our kids are really excited,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, now in her 16th season at the helm. “Penn State is a high-powered opponent so this will be a good measuring stick to see how far we have come and what we need to do. I think our fans will enjoy watching two outstanding teams battle it out. We are going to put our best foot forward and play as hard as we can and see what happens.”
Delaware, led by All-American and World University Games gold medalist Elena Delle Donne, opened the season with an 89-53 win over Rhode Island before an crowd of 3,211 last Friday. Delle Donne scored 28 of her game-high 33 points to lead Delaware while the newest Blue Hen transfers, Trumae Lucas and Akeema Richards, also played key roles in the victory. Lucas netted 14 points and the speedy Richards (at right) chipped in with eight markers. The Hens put up a BCC-record 51 points in the opening half to build the foundation for the win.
Penn State, a perennial Big 10 power and NCAA Tournament participant, has jumped out to a 2-0 mark thanks to wins of 72-60 over Washington State and 65-49 over Middle Tennessee in PSU's own Lady Lion Classic last week. Maggie Lucas leads the Lions with 18.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while Alex Bentley chips in with 15.0 ppg, Zhaque Gray adds 11.0 ppg, and Nikki Green contributes 6.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
The two teams will be meeting for the second straight year and for the eighth time overall. Penn State posted a 64-55 victory last season in State College, downing the Hens for the fifth straight time. Delaware posted its only win in the series with a 66-64 victory during the 1976-77 season.
The Nittany Lions are the Blue Hens' highest ranked opponent since Penn State was ranked No. 11 in a Feb. 16, 1979 matchup at the Delaware Field House. Penn State is the fifth Top 25 women's team to visit The Bob since the building opened prior to the 1992-93 season. The list includes visits from No. 13 Old Dominion in 2007-08, No. 17 Vermont in 1992-93, No. 22 James Madison in 2006-07, and No. 25 Old Dominion in 2001-02.
