WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Penn State to host 2011 NCAA games

From CDT staff reports

INDIANAPOLIS — Penn State University and the Bryce Jordan Center will serve as a host to the opening two rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in 2011, the NCAA announced Thursday.

The games will take place March 19-22. Penn State last hosted the opening rounds in 2006, which featured eventual national champion Maryland and current NCAA champion Connecticut.

“I am so excited for Penn State, the Bryce Jordan Center and the Big Ten Conference to bring the NCAA first and second rounds back to Happy Valley,” said Lady Lion coach Coquese Washington, who was an assistant coach at Notre Dame the last time Penn State hosted the event. “We have some of the best fans in women’s basketball and to reward their support and loyalty with the

opportunity to watch the first and second rounds is fantastic.”

“Penn State has shown it is prepared to host events of this high caliber,” Penn State athletic director Tim Curley also said in a statement released by the university “We are happy that we can bring the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament back to the fans in Pennsylvania, who have shown incredible enthusiasm for the Lady Lions and basketball in general.”

Ohio State, Connecticut, Tennessee, Maryland, Duke, Stanford, New Mexico, Virginia, Auburn, Cincinnati, Utah, Louisiana Tech, Gonzaga, Baylor and Wichita State also will serve as host universities for the opening rounds.

Later regional rounds will be held in Philadelphia, Dallas, Dayton, Ohio, and Spokane, Wash.

Penn State, which advanced to the Final Four in 2000, has not made the NCAA Tournament since the 2005 season. The Lady Lions are 26-21 all-time in the NCAA’s.