Game of the Week: Women’s Basketball vs. No. 23 Michigan State

Editor’s Note: StateCollege.com is pleased to announce the first part of a weekly ‘Game of the Week’ series. We’ll select the biggest, most interesting or most exciting Penn State home game of the weekend and tell you why you should attend. Let me know what you think of the new series or suggest the next ‘Game of the Week’ by e-mailing me at terry.casey@statecollege.com. -TJC

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The Game: Penn State Women’s Basketball vs. Michigan State

The Start: 1 p.m. Sunday

The Location: Bryce Jordan Center

Why this game: No. 23 Michigan State is Penn State’s first ranked Big Ten opponent, and Lady Lions are currently in a tie for second place in the Big Ten. The team is on fire this season; the Lady Lions have already matched last year’s number of wins.

Why else: Sunday is ‘Autograph Day’ at the BJC. Panoramic posters will be handed out and autographs will be given after the game.

UNIVERSITY PARK — Things are looking more positive for Penn State women’s basketball this time of year than they were in 2009.

The Lady Lions headed to Michigan State a year ago having lost three of their last four games and owning a 2-4 conference record. They left Michigan State having lost for a second time and heading toward a final record of 11-18.

The team already has won 11 games, and senior guard/forward Tyra Grant said ‘there is still a lot of season left.’

Comparing the last two years’ teams, Grant said Penn State is ‘not just depending on one person or another person. We have a lot of all-around talent, and I feel we are very balanced this year.”

The Lady Lions (11-4, 3-2), who are currently in a four-way tie for second place in the Big Ten, face No. 23 Michigan State (11-5, 2-3) 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Lions beat once-ranked No. 15 Pittsburgh, but this Sunday’s match-up will be the first against a ranked Big Ten team.

‘They have got good size at every position. They are a physical, tough, defensive team; they crash the boards hard and they play with a swagger,’ Coach Coquese Washington said of Michigan State. ‘They are a tough team to play against because of their match-ups.’

In the Big Ten, only Ohio State is undefeated, with five wins. The four-way tie for second place includes three-win teams. The rest of the conference is only one or two wins behind.

“You lose one game and you take a big drop, or you win a game and you take a big jump,” Washington said. “We got to take them one game at a time because that is when you are going to start to see the separation.”

The team is continuing to improve but must add points per game and reduce fouls per game if it wants to stay competitive, Washington said.

Grant leads the team in scoring with 292 total points and an average of 19.5 ppg. The senior, who has never experienced a winning collegiate season, recognizes the importance of humility, but is enjoying this season.

“I am having a lot of fun winning,” said Grant. “We could lose every game from here on out and I could still have the same record I did last year.’

Other notes:

• The Lady Lions will have to play without sophomore guard Renee Womack, who suffered a season-ending Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear in her left knee at practice last Saturday. Washington expects guards sophomore Zhaque Gray and freshman Gizelle Studevent to fill Womack’s role.