UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After more than a week-long wait, the No. 11/12 Penn State Lady Lions (24-6, 13-3) will finally find out their NCAA Tournament fate Monday when the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special presented by Capitol One airs from 7-8 p.m. on ESPN. There will also be extended coverage from 8-9 p.m. on ESPNU. Trey Wingo will host the Selection Monday Special along with analysts Kara Lawson, Carolyn Peck, Doris Burke and Rebecca Lobo.
Additionally, fans can hear from all 64 head coaches on Tuesday (March 13) in the College Basketball Live: Women’s Special from 1-5 p.m. Beth Mowins will host the special along with analysts Cara Capuano and Abby Waner.
The Lady Lions are 11th in this week’s Associated Press poll and 12th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll with a 24-6 record. Penn State earned its sixth Big Ten regular-season with a 13-3 mark in conference play. The Lady Lions are looking for their 23rd berth into the NCAA Tournament and second-straight bid. Guards Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) and Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) were both named to the All-Big Ten first team after averaging 19.1 and 14.2 ppg, respectively. Lucas is second in the conference in scoring and ranks in the Top 25 in the NCAA in scoring, three-point field goal percentage (.411) and free throw percentage (.887). Bentley led the Big Ten in steals (3.1) during conference play, becoming the first Lady Lion to accomplish the feat since 2005. Head coach Coquese Washington was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Lions to the Big Ten regular-season title.
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament First and Second Round will take place March 17-21. The sites for the First and Second Round games are Ames, Baton Rouge, Bowling Green, Bridgeport, Chapel Hill, Chicago, College Park, College Station, Little Rock, Nashville, Norfolk, Norman, South Bend, Spokane, Tallahassee and West Lafayette.
ESPN networks will air all 63 games of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship for the 10th consecutive year – beginning Saturday, March 17 and running through the NCAA National Championship game on Tuesday, April 3. During the first two rounds, ESPN2 will present 48 games within 12 telecast windows in a whip-around format with home market protection. ESPN FULL COURT, the pay-per-view package, will offer complete games as a supplement to ESPN2’s coverage. The final 15 games, beginning with the Regional Semifinals, will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2.