Penn State Set For Tough Road Test At NorthwesternPenn State Set For Tough Road Test At Northwestern
Mark Selders

Penn State Set For Tough Road Test At Northwestern

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team hits the road again to take on a Northwestern squad that sits tied atop the Big Ten standings Sunday afternoon. Tipoff from Evanston, Ill. is slated for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State hits the road to take on a red-hot Northwestern team in a Sunday matinee in Evanston, Ill.
  • Penn State is 7-10 overall and earned its first Big Ten victory of the season against Michigan State on Jan. 9. Four of Penn State's wins this season have come over 2019 NCAA Tournament teams.
  • Junior Kamaria McDaniel is the Big Ten's leading scorer with 19.1 points per game. Senior Siyeh Frazier (13.5 ppg) is also averaging double-digit points.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS NORTHWESTERN

  • Penn State would beat the Wildcats for the 14th time in the last 15 meetings.
  • The Lady Lions would earn their first conference road win of the season.
  • Penn State would hand Northwestern just its second Big Ten loss and third overall loss of the year.

 
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN

  • Northwestern is off to a torrid start to the season, sitting at 15-2 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play.
  • The Wildcats are in a three-way tie with Rutgers and Iowa at the top of the Big Ten standings.
  • NU is coming off a 71-69 overtime win at #15/16 Indiana Thursday night.
  • The Wildcats' only loss of conference play came against Iowa (77-51) on Jan. 5.
  • Northwestern ranks in the top three of the Big Ten in scoring defense (54.2 - 2nd), assists (17.9 per game - 3rd), steals (10.7 per game - 3rd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5 - 1st).
  • Lindsay Pulliam leads the team with 18.1 points per game. Abi Scheid (11.6 ppg), Abbie Wolf (11.5 ppg) and Veronica Burton (9.1 ppg) have also been key offensive contributors.

 
AGAINST THE WILDCATS

  • Penn State has won 13 of the last 14 matchups with the Wildcats and holds a 38-8 all-time advantage over Northwestern.
  • The Wildcats snapped a 13-game losing streak to Penn State in the series' most recent meeting on Feb. 14, 2019 in Evanston, Ill.
  • Northwestern got out to a fast start and never looked back as the Wildcats handed Penn State a 78-63 loss.
  • Penn State finished the game shooting 33.8 percent (23-for-68) from the field compared to Northwestern's 47.6 percent (30-for-63) mark.
  • The Wildcats held a 17-4 edge in points off turnovers. Penn State had 12 turnovers compared to NU's nine.

 
DANGEROUS DUO

  • The duo of senior Siyeh Frazier and junior Kamaria McDaniel became the first pair of Penn State players to both score 20-plus points in back-to-back games since the 2011-12 season.
  • Frazier and McDaniel both scored 24 points against Michigan State on Jan. 9 and followed that with 22-point performances at Ohio State on Jan. 12.
  • The last time the same two players scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games was Nov. 26 and Nov. 30, 2011 when Zhaque Gray and Maggie Lucas did so. Gray scored 21 against Nevada on Nov. 26, 2011 and 25 against North Carolina on Nov. 30, 2011, while Lucas dropped 26 against Nevada and 21 against UNC.
  • Frazier and McDaniel have been off to a torrid start in conference play. McDaniel is averaging 21.2 points per conference game, while Frazier owns a mark of 16.8 points per Big Ten contest.

 
20-20 VISION

  • Junior Kamaria McDaniel scored 20 or more points in four of Penn State's first five Big Ten games. She was the first Lady Lion to score 20-plus in four of the first five conference games since Tyra Grant did so during the 2009-10 season.
  • The Inkster, Mich. native has tallied seven 20-plus point efforts this season and has scored in double figures in 16 of Penn State's 17 games.

 
KAMARIA McBUCKETS

  • Kamaria McDaniel is the Big Ten's leading scorer (tied with Rutgers' Arella Guirantes) and averaging 19.1 points per game. That mark ranks 27th in all of Division I as of Jan. 17. Her 21.2 points per Big Ten game ranks second in the conference.
  • She dropped the third 40-point game in program history against Pittsburgh on Dec. 5 and put up a 31-point performance against Minnesota in the Big Ten opener on Dec. 28.
  • McDaniel was just one assist away from recording Penn State's first triple-double of the Big Ten era on Jan. 9 against Michigan State as she tallied team-best marks of 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. It marked her first career double-double.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State returns home to face #15/16 Indiana Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network.