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Catch the action as Hall of Fame coaches Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer lead their teams in the fourth annual Maggie Dixon Classic! And don't miss Baylor's six-foot-eight freshman dunking phenom Brittney Griner take on Boston College in game one of the doubleheader.

Game One
Baylor vs. Boston College

Game Two
Tennessee vs. Rutgers

Madison Square Garden will once again host the Heart Health Expo, going on throughout the Maggie Dixon Classic in the MSG Expo Center. Children and young adults up to age 22 can receive free heart screenings. All fans in attendance can check out educational heart displays, play games, get autographs and receive free giveaways.

The Maggie Dixon Classic is held annually in memory of the former Army Black Knights women's basketball coach. Dixon died suddenly due to an arrhythmia caused by a previously undiagnosed heart condition at the age of 28. Three weeks earlier, Dixon led her team to its first NCAA tournament appearance in school history, capping a Cinderella season.

RUTGERS, TENNESSEE, BOSTON COLLEGE AND BAYLOR TIP-OFF IN FOURTH ANNUAL MAGGIE DIXON CLASSIC ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13 AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
TICKETS GO ON SALE TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2009

Coach Crawley (AP File Photo)

Women's Basketball Home

RUTGERS, TENNESSEE, BOSTON COLLEGE AND BAYLOR TIP-OFF IN FOURTH ANNUAL MAGGIE DIXON CLASSIC ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13 AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

July 20, 2009


New York, NY - Madison Square Garden announced today that Rutgers University, the University of Tennessee, Boston College, and Baylor University will participate in the fourth annual Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday, December 13, 2009. Two Hall of Fame coaches and one freshman sensation highlight this premier women's college basketball doubleheader.

Baylor, which is led by 6-foot-7 freshman dunking phenom Brittney Griner, takes on Boston College and head coach Sylvia Crawley in game one scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Both teams will be making their Madison Square Garden debuts.

Game two features Hall of Fame coaches Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer when Tennessee takes on Rutgers in the teams' seventh matchup in seven years. The two teams met at Madison Square Garden once before, in 1999, and Tennessee won 68-54. The anticipated matchup will be broadcast on ESPNU.

"Madison Square Garden is thrilled to again host the Maggie Dixon Classic and continue to help raise awareness for the Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) Foundation," said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, Madison Square Garden Sports Properties. "This marquee women's college basketball event has quickly become a fixture on The Garden's annual college basketball schedule."

Tickets for the Maggie Dixon Classic, starting at $15.00, go on sale Tuesday, July 21 at 12:00 p.m. and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.thegarden.com. Madison Square Garden's remaining college basketball schedule will be announced at a later date.

The Maggie Dixon Classic is held annually in memory of the former Army Black Knights women's basketball coach. On April 6, 2006, women's college basketball lost a young and healthy Maggie Dixon, who died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Over the course of her six months as head coach at the United States Military Academy, she led the program to unprecedented heights; the Black Knights played in their first Patriot League Championship and Dixon led her team to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.



Over 325,000 Americans die every year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Madison Square Garden will again team with the Dixon family and the Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education (C.A.R.E.) Foundation, Inc., for the third-annual Heart Health Expo. All fans are encouraged to attend the Heart Health Expo where free heart screenings will be conducted for children and young adults up to age 22 to help raise awareness of heart related illness. The Expo will also include educational heart displays, health demonstrations, player autograph opportunities, and an appearance by the Knicks Groove Truck. Over 350 fans participated during last season's Expo, 100 teens and adults were trained in CPR, and more than 50 people registered to be organ donors.

MSG Sports Properties, which includes world championship boxing, college basketball, tennis, track & field, and all other sports events is part of Madison Square Garden, L.P. which is owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation and includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, the legendary Chicago Theatre, as well as an exclusive co-booking agreement with the venerable Wang Theatre in Boston; and which manages wholly-owned live entertainment properties including the Radio City Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular; MSG Media, which is comprised of television networks MSG and MSG Plus, and MSG Interactive which oversees all company wireless and online initiatives; Fuse, the only national music television net! work; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.

Women's Basketball To Play Baylor In Madison Square Garden
Eagles ready to face No. 6 Baylor on Sunday, Dec. 13

Dec. 12, 2009

The Boston College women's basketball team will travel to New York and play No. 6 Baylor in historic Madison Square Garden on Sunday, December 13 (1 p.m.). The game will be at 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU.

This will be the first meeting between the Eagles (5-4) and Baylor (7-1). The two teams have only one common opponent this season - California. Baylor defeated the California Bears on Nov. 22, 69-49. BC will play California on Dec. 28 in San Diego.

Quick Facts

•The Eagles will play seven teams that are currently ranked in the ESPN Top 25 (California, Baylor, UNC, Virginia, Duke, Florida State, Maryland).
•Freshman Kerri Shields shot 4-for-7 from the three-point line and scored a career-high 12 points against Monmouth. She played a career-high 17 minutes in the game.
•Senior Ayla Brown grabbed 10 rebounds against Michigan on Thursday night. It is the third time this season in which Brown grabbed 10 boards. Brown notched 10 vs. SMU and Iowa.
•Freshman Kerri Shields is emerging as an offensive spark off the bench for Boston College. A native of Drexel Hill, PA, Shields is shooting 50 percent (7-14) from the floor in the last two games. She had a career-high 12 points against Monmouth on 4-for-7 from the three-point line. In the loss to Michigan, Shields played only 10 minutes but managed to hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for nine points. She is 7-for-13 (53.8%) from the three-point line in two games. Shields is now 10-for-27 (37.0%) from the 3-point line for the season.
•Sophomore Jasmine Gill notched her first career double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) against Michigan on Thursday night.
•Junior Carolyn Swords scored her 1,000th career point vs. Harvard on Nov. 14.
•Senior Mickel Picco is just 17 three-pointers away from tying a school record set by Cal Bouchard in the 1999-00 season. Bouchard had 212 three-pointers.
•Junior forward Stefanie Murphy grabbed eight rebounds against SMU on Nov. 28 to join the 500 point-500 rebound Club. Murphy is the 19th player in the history of the program to reach the milestone.
•Carolyn Swords grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds against Fresno State. Swords career-high is 21 rebounds against NC State on Jan. 29, 2009.
•Stefanie Murphy is just 81 points away from reaching the 1,000 point plateau.
•Fans can follow the game tomorrow on Twitter at BCSportsNews.

Eagles Fall To No. 6 Baylor, 68-55
Stefanie Murphy scored 18 to lead Boston College

Dec. 13, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) Junior Stefanie Murphy notched 18 points to lead Boston College (5-5) in a 68-55 loss to No. 6 Baylor at Madison Square Garden.

"We're starting to turn the corner," Crawley said. "We're getting a little better each game and getting ready for the ACC."

Murphy shot 8-for-11 from the floor and grabbed four boards, while Carolyn Swords finished with six points and 14 rebounds. Baylor was led by freshman Brittney Griner with 25 points and seven rebounds.

Boston College came out cold to start the game and Baylor responded with a 12-2 run in the first six minutes of play. BC battled back and cut it to nine points when Murphy hit a layup at 6:32 in the game. Swords kept BC close with a bucket at 4:06 and BC was down, 28-19. A foul shot by Ashley Field gave Baylor a 29-19 halftime lead.

BC shot just 28 percent from the field, while Baylor went 13-for-31 from the floor (41%).

Eagles senior Mickel Picco opened the second half with a three-pointer and BC was down seven points. Less than a minute later, Murphy hit from beyond the arc and the Baylor lead was cut, 29-25. The two teams exchanged baskets but after a BC turnover and a missed three-pointer Baylor's Meghan Merlock (12 points, five rebounds) gave the Bears a 12 point leadat 14:14 in the game.

Baylor's Griner gave her team a 14 point lead, 43-29, at 12:27. The lead grew to 16 points but BC fought back. Picco hit a three-pointer with just under five minutes to play and the Eagles were down just 10 points. It was the closest BC would get as Baylor pounded the ball down low to Griner.

The host Eagles out rebounded Baylor, 38-36, but the Bears scored 50 points in the paint to the Eagles 20 points.


This was the fourth Maggie Dixon Classic in honor of the former Army coach, who died on April 6, 2006, of arrhythmia, likely caused by an enlarged heart. The inaugural Maggie Dixon Classic was held at Army in 2006 - a men's and women's doubleheader. The Pittsburgh men, coached by Maggie's brother Jamie, beat Western Michigan, while Ohio State routed Army. The last three have been played at Madison Square Garden as women's doubleheaders.

Thanks for reporting back! That's too bad they came up short, but the game was for a good cause and it's awesome anytime you get to visit NYC. Did Ayla and the team come out for a meet and greet after the game? They were probably busy but I wasn't sure if they signed autographs as part of the event.