UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team opens a two-game homestand and the second half of Big Ten play Thursday night when the Lady Lions take on #18/19 Iowa. Tipoff from the Bryce Jordan Center is set for 7 p.m.
PROMOTIONS
- Faculty and Staff Night presented by Penn State Health
FOLLOW ALONG
- Tickets: Tickets
- Video ($): BTN-Plus
- Listen: Penn State Sports Network with Justin Antweil and Joe Putnam – 93.3 FM, 1390 AM and Online
- Live Stats: Live Stats
- Game Notes: Penn State Notes
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State opens a two-game homestand with a Thursday night showdown against Big Ten-leading #18/19 Iowa.
- Penn State is 7-13 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 20.1 points per game. Senior Siyeh Frazier (12.8 ppg) is also averaging double-digit points.
IF PENN STATE BEATS IOWA
- Penn State would beat its a team that is ranked in the top 20 of both national polls for the first time since Feb. 11, 2016 when the Lady Lions defeated #15/17 Michigan State, 65-61, in Happy Valley.
- Penn State would earn its second win of Big Ten play and snap a five-game losing streak.
SCOUTING IOWA
- #18/19 Iowa sits alone atop the Big Ten standings with an 8-1 mark in conference play and a 17-3 overall record.
- The Hawkeyes' lone loss in Big Ten play came in the conference opener at Nebraska on Dec. 28 as Iowa fell 69-78.
- Red-hot Iowa has since rattled off eight-straight wins.
- The Hawkeyes rank in the top three of the Big Ten standings in scoring offense (80.0 ppg - second), free throw percentage (74.6% - second), field goal percentage (48.8% - first), three-point field goal percentage (37.5% - second), and assists (20.6 per game - first).
- Kathleen Doyle leads Iowa with 18.7 points per game. Her mark of 22.6 points per conference game ranks second in the Big Ten.
- Monika Czinano (15.2 ppg) and Makenzie Meyer (15.1 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
- The Hawkeyes are coming off a 2018-19 season that saw them win the Big Ten Tournament and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
AGAINST THE HAWKEYES
- Penn State leads the all-time series against Iowa 29-21, including a 16-7 edge against the Hawkeyes when playing in Happy Valley.
- Iowa has won the last two meetings, including an 81-61 victory in last season's matchup on Feb. 3, 2019 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Lady Lions were within two of #13-12 Iowa after the first quarter, but the Hawkeyes outscored Penn State 24-11 in the second quarter and never looked back.
- Teniya Page led Penn State with 17 points and scored her 2,000th career point in the process. Alisia Smith followed with 15 points and a team high-tying seven rebounds. Amari Carter followed with 10 points and a squad-high five assists.
KAMARIA McBUCKETS
- Kamaria McDaniel is the Big Ten's leading scorer and averaging 20.1 points per game. That mark ranks 17th in all of Division I as of Jan. 29. Her 22.7 points per Big Ten game also leads the conference.
- The Inkster, Mich. native is coming off a 35-point effort at Purdue Sunday. It marked her third 30-plus point performance of the season.
- 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.
20-20 VISION
- Kamaria McDaniel has tallied nine 20-plus point efforts, six of which have come in conference play, and has scored in double figures in 19 of Penn State's 20 games.
- The guard 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.
FINAL FOUR REUNION ON THE HORIZON
- The Lady Lions will host Alumni Weekend this coming Friday through Sunday, with a special celebration planned for the 20-year anniversary of the 2000 Final Four team.
- The 1999-00 Lady Lions earned the program's first Final Four berth with a dominating win over No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech, 86-65. Penn State won its third Big Ten title with a 15-1 conference record. Helen Darling, who will be returning to Happy Valley this weekend, claimed Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors.
UP NEXT
- Penn State remains home to host Northwestern Sunday at noon.
- The team will welcome back over 40 alumni for Alumni Weekend, including several members of the 2000 Final Four team.