UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team is back in the Bryce Jordan Center Thursday night when the Lady Lions welcome Wisconsin for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
FOLLOW ALONG
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Game Notes: Penn State Notes
OPENING TIPS
- The Lady Lions return home to host Wisconsin in a key Big Ten matchup Thursday night.
- Penn State is 0-2 in Big Ten play after a pair of tough losses to #4/4 Maryland and RV/RV Indiana.
- Four Lady Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Teniya Page's 20.5 ppg. Page has scored in double figures in every game this season, including seven 20-plus point efforts. Page's 20.5 ppg ranks second amongst all Big Ten players.
IF PENN STATE BEATS WISCONSIN
- Penn State would capture its third-straight win over Wisconsin and improve to 20-3 all-time at home against the Badgers.
- The Lady Lions would avoid their first 0-3 start to conference play since the 2014-15 season.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
- Wisconsin enters Thursday's game with a 10-4 overall record and 1-1 mark in conference play.
- The Badgers are coming off a 76-69 home win over Purdue on New Year's Eve. Wisconsin dropped its Big Ten opener 74-56 at Minnesota on Dec. 28.
- Four Badgers scored in double figures in the win over the Boilermakers, led by Kelly Karlis' career-best 17 points.
- Marsha Howard leads the team for the season with 12.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Imani Lewis follows with marks of 12.0 points and 8.4 boards.
- Kendra Van Leeuwen has dished a team-best 81 assists.
AGAINST THE BADGERS
- Penn State leads the all-time series against Wisconsin 31-14 and has won the last two matchups.
- The Lady Lions are 19-3 at home all-time against the Badgers.
- Penn State use a 10-0 fourth-quarter run to find the separation it would need for a 69-62 win over the Badgers in last season's meeting on Jan. 14, 2018 in Madison, Wisc.
- The score was tied 52-52 with seven minutes to play before the Lady Lions embarked on their 10-0 run and then didn't allow Wisconsin to get closer than seven the rest of the way.
- Amari Carter scored 21 points to lead the way for the Lady Lions, while Jaida Travascio-Green added 20.
FIRST TWO
- The Lady Lions are 0-2 in Big Ten play to start the season after a pair of tough losses.
- Penn State led #4/4 Maryland after three quarters of Friday's Big Ten opener, but the preseason Big Ten favorite Terrapins outscored the Lady Lions 21-4 in the final frame, including an 18-0 run to close the game, to earn the 77-61 road win.
- Penn State and RV/RV Indiana were in a back-and-forth battle on New Year's Eve. The Hoosiers held a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter before outscoring the Lady Lions 27-20 in the final term with the help of a 13-for-15 showing from the free throw line and 12 fourth-quarter points from Ali Patberg.
- Senior guard Teniya Page has scored 24 points in each of the two Big Ten games to lead the Lady Lions. Kamaria McDaniel has added an average of 15.0 ppg in conference play.
THIS IS B1G
- Penn State enters its 27th season as a member of the Big Ten Conference and has enjoyed immense success since becoming a member of the storied conference in 1992-93.
- The Lady Lions own a winning record against nine of the 13 other Big Ten programs.
- The Lady Lions own an all-time mark of 268-164 in Big Ten play, with marks of 160-57at home and 108-107 on the road.
- Penn State's eight regular-season championships since 1993-94 are tied for the most won by any Big Ten team during that span. Ohio State has also won eight regular-season titles during that span. The Lady Lions also own a pair of Big Ten Tournament titles, winning in 1995 and 1996.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP HERE
- The sophomore duo of Alisia Smith and Kamaria McDaniel has made a major impact this season as the two have combined for 30.5 percent (281-of-920) of Penn State's points.
- McDaniel is currently the team's second-leading scorer with 11.9 points per game. The Inkster, Mich. native has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games.
- Smith is averaging 10.5 points per game and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per contest. She's shooting a team-best 48.9 percent (44-for-90) from the field.
- Smith has notched three double-doubles and scored in double figures in eight of her 12 appearances.
- Both have made major jumps from last season. McDaniel finished her freshman season averaging 5.0 points per game, while Smith chipped in 5.2 points per contest in her rookie season.
UP NEXT
- The Lady Lions are back on the road Sunday to take on a red-hot Rutgers team.
- Tipoff from New Jersey is slated for 4 p.m.