Lady Lion Basketball ranks No. 8 nationally in pre-season poll

Penn State is the highest ranked Big Ten team

University Park, Pa. -- The Lady Lion Basketball team will open the 2003-04 season ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, earning their third pre-season Top 10 ranking.

Penn State, the 2003 Big Ten champion, is the highest rated Big Ten team in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Purdue is No. 9, Minnesota is No. 13 and Ohio State is No. 15.

Coach Rene Portland's squad previously was tabbed No. 6 in Athlon's pre-season Top 25, while Street & Smith's pegged Penn State at No. 9. The Associated Press pre-season poll has not been released.

Penn State returns its starting five and a total of eight letterwinners from last year's 26-9 squad that lost to national runner-up Tennessee in the NCAA Sweet 16.

The Lady Lions will be led by national player of the year candidate Kelly Mazzante (Montoursville), who enters the 2003-04 campaign just 16 points shy of becoming the Lady Lions' all-time leading scorer. The two-time Kodak All-America choice also is within 341 points of becoming the top scorer in Big Ten history. The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, Mazzante enters the season having scored 2,238 points in her superlative career.

In addition to the three above Big Ten squads, Penn State will play at least four other squads ranked in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll: Texas (No. 3, Dec. 7); LSU (No. 10, Nov. 21); Louisiana Tech (No. 12, Dec. 21) and North Carolina (No. 14, Dec. 30). In addition, the Lions may have an opportunity to play No. 5 Kansas State, Nov. 29 at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.

Should Penn State meet Kansas State, the Lady Lions will play eight teams ranked in the top 15 of the USA Today/ESPN pre-season poll during the upcoming campaign.

The Lady Lions play their lone exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 7, hosting Basketball Travelers at 7 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State opens the 2003-04 season on Friday, Nov. 21 when it hosts LSU at the Bryce Jordan Center at 7 p.m.

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, Coach Portland, her staff and the Lady Lion players, along with Coach Ed DeChellis and the Nittany Lion men's basketball team, will be available to meet fans at "Tip-Off Tuesday." The event will be held from 7-9 p.m. at the State College Ramada Inn, located on South Atherton Street. The event is free and refreshments will be served. "Tip-Off Tuesday" is being co-sponsored by the Penn State Alumni Association and the Nittany Lion Club.

Season tickets, weekend "mini-packs" and single game tickets for the Nittany and Lady Lions are available. Fans may purchase single game tickets at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket windows weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fans also may call 800-863-3336 or 814-865-5555 locally, or order tickets online at http://www.GoPSUsports.com, the official Web site of Penn State athletics.

Fans interested in the "mini-pack" weekend ticket packages and season tickets can purchase them online at http://www.GoPSUsports.com or by calling the Penn State ticket office at 800-833-5533, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

2003-04 USA Today/ESPN Preseason Top 25

1. Connecticut
2. Duke
3. Texas*
4. Tennessee
5. Kansas State
6. Texas Tech
7. Stanford
8. PENN STATE
9. Purdue*
10. LSU*
11. Georgia
12. Louisiana Tech*
13. Minnesota*
14. North Carolina*
15. Ohio State*
16. Notre Dame
17. Rutgers
18. UC-Santa Barbara
19. Utah
20. Colorado
21. Oklahoma
22. Arizona
23. TCU
24. Virginia
25. Auburn

* Penn State opponent