UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team returns home Thursday evening to host Michigan State at 7 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
PROMOTIONS
- Roaring Twenties Kickoff
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 returns home after back-to-back road games to host Michigan State Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Penn State is 6-8 overall and will be looking for its first win of conference play on Thursday. Three of Penn State's wins this season have come over 2019 NCAA Tournament teams.
- Junior Kamaria McDaniel is the Big Ten's third-leading scorer with 19.1 points per game. Senior Siyeh Frazier (12.1 ppg) and freshman Makenna Marisa (10.0 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
IF PENN STATE BEATS MICHIGAN STATE
- Penn State would earn its first Big Ten victory of the season and move to 7-8 overall.
- Penn State would move to 30-18 all-time against the Spartans and 17-7 when playing MSU in Happy Valley.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
- Michigan State is 8-6 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play.
- The Spartans have dropped both of their road conference matches and are 1-3 in away games this season.
- Michigan State's conference win came on Dec. 31 when the Spartans defeated Nebraska 78-70 in East Lansing, Mich.
- The Spartans have dropped road battles at Indiana (67-79, Dec. 28) and Michigan (69-89, Jan. 5).
- Nia Clouden leads MSU with 15.1 points per game and 46 assists.
- Taryn McCutcheon follows with 12.3 points per game and a team-best 31 made three-pointers.
AGAINST THE SPARTANS
- Penn State and Michigan State have split the last 10 meetings in a tightly-contested series.
- The Lady Lions own a 29-18 edge in the all-time series, including a mark of 16-7 when playing MSU in Happy Valley.
- Michigan State earned a 57-48 win in last season's meeting on Feb. 27, 2019 in East Lansing, Mich.
- Penn State trimmed a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit down to single digits, but couldn't complete the comeback as the Spartans held on for the 57-48 victory.
- Lauren Ebo registered her second career double-double, and first of Big Ten play, with 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Lions. Kamaria McDaniel added 12 points and a team-best four assists.
KAMARIA McBUCKETS
- Junior Kamaria McDaniel is the Big Ten's third-leading scorer and averaging 19.1 points per game. That marks ranks 28th in all of Division I as of Jan. 8. Her 23.3 points per Big Ten game ranks second in the conference.
- The Inkster, Mich. native has tallied five 20-plus point efforts this season and has scored in double figures in 13 of Penn State's 14 games.
- 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 has transformed into the team's go-to scorer after averaging 9.7 points per game a season ago as a sophomore.
SIYEH STUFFING THE STAT SHEET
- Senior Siyeh Frazier has proven she can do it all this season, as the Detroit native is averaging 12.1 points per game in addition to a 6.4 rebounds per contest. Both marks rank second on the team.
- Frazier also leads the team with 38 steals and ranks second with 37 assists.
- The guard has notched nine double-digit scoring games while leading the team in scoring in seven contests.
- Frazier put together a career night against Minnesota in Saturday's Big Ten opener as she tallied a career-best 21 points to go along with nine rebounds.
FINDING THE FREE THROW LINE
- Penn State leads the Big Ten and ranks 10th nationally in free throws made (224) and 17th in free throws attempted (312) as of Jan. 8.
- Kamaria McDaniel has found her way to the free throw line the most, attempting a team-best 96 freebies. Her 96 free throw attempts rank ninth in the nation. Freshman Makenna Marisa is shooting a team-best 82.5 percent (33-for-40) from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
- Penn State is back on the road Sunday to face Ohio State.
- Tipoff from Columbus, Ohio is slated for 2 p.m.