UNIVERSITY PARK, CENTRE COUNTY - With Sunday's big win against Nebraska, the Lady Lions won the regular season Big Ten Title. Well now they're solely focused on getting that tournament title.
Senior guard Alex Bentley says, "I feel like my teammates and I, we have a lot of confidence in ourselves. We hold ourselves to a high standard. So going into the Big Ten Tournament we're ready, we're excited and we're pumped."
But Penn State will have to wait until Friday to get the chance to play. With the #1 seed, they get a first round bye and will take on the winner of #9 Ohio State vs. #8 Minnesota [who play on Thursday]. The Gophers knocked off the Lady Lions just last week.
"Despite the Minnesota loss and all that we still have confidence in each other, " says Senior guard Gizelle Studevent. "We learned from that. And then going into the Nebraska game, getting that big win, we know we're going into the Big Ten Tournament competing and doing the best that we can."
"I think we just have to come out and play our game," says Bentley. "With any team, if we stick to our game plan and play our game, our style of play, we'll be good."
But the Lady Lions haven't had the best of luck in recent years. Last season, they fell in the semifinals to Purdue, after winning the regular season Big Ten title. The year before that, they fell in the Big Ten title game to Ohio State.
"You look at this group of seniors and juniors we've had our share of heartbreaks in Big Ten Tournaments," says Coach Coquese Washington. "So I know we're eager to go out there and give it another shot. For Alex [Bentley], Nikki [Greene], Gizelle [Studevent] and Mia [Nickson], this is their last shot at a Big Ten Tournament Title so i know they're hungry to get one."
Friday night's game against either Minnesota or Ohio State will tip off at 7pm ET.
