UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Coming off her team's first loss of the season, Penn State women's basketball head coach Carolyn Kieger maintains an optimistic outlook on the future.
"I think we're starting to learn how to play with each other. With 13 new players you knew that was going to take some time," Kieger said. "But I think we're starting to get there."
Although the Lady Lions suffered an 82-72 loss to then-No. 22 Syracuse, Kieger is proud of the resiliency that her young group showed along the way.
"I think we're doing a much better job of following the game plan, being smart about personnel and focusing in as a group on each other's strengths and weaknesses," Kieger said. "Just kind of building that chemistry, and I think you'll see that get better as the year goes on."
Sitting at a 3-1 record in early non-conference play, the loss did not just mark the first blemish of Penn State's schedule, but a "missed opportunity" in the eyes of its second-year head coach.
"I really believe we beat ourselves when you talk about opportunities missed, and obviously, give a lot of credit to Syracuse and their experienced backcourt, their size and [Quentin Hillsman] as a coach," Kieger said. "I think we left 59 offensive opportunities on the board. We obviously have to take better care of the ball and take better shots."
The Lady Lions turned the ball over 24 times compared to Syracuse's 17, including 10 costly mishaps in the second quarter that fueled a 15-0 Orange run, as Syracuse overcame an early deficit and closed the half with a 33-32 lead. The majority of the giveaways occurred when Syracuse extended its defensive pressure to the full length of the floor.
"I think we lost our heads there in the second quarter," Kieger said. "I don't even believe those turnovers were forced. I thought they were errant passes and I thought we were trying to make the home run pass versus the easy play."
In the team's thrilling buzzer-beater win over Rhode Island, Penn State stayed composed until the final moments, which, in her eyes, was not the case against the Orange.
"On the flip side against Rhode Island, we kept our composure at the end of the game," Kieger said. "They showed what it means to keep a level head and to stay composed in the moment."
In addition, some poor shot selection and missed attempts at the rim were issues that also warrant improvement from Penn State. Moving forward, however, Kieger expects the team's camaraderie and composure to escalate, and thus, help it succeed in late-game situations.
"We can't hang our heads about it. We have to learn about it and understand that if we tweak or fix one or two things we do that we have a top-25 win, and that's part of growth of a program," Kieger said. "It's learning and then next time we play them, hopefully we do get that W."
In terms of personnel, there's no question that the talent is there to help Penn State continue its early success. For the players, it's more about learning their teammates' strengths and weaknesses, and putting each other in positions to succeed.
Against Syracuse, Penn State benefited greatly from the hot hand of Tova Sabel, who finished the game as the team's leading scorer, knocking down five three-pointers en-route to a career-high 15 points.
According to Kieger, Sabel has the ability to become a "three-way scorer," and should have gotten more touches against the Orange.
"She's got great core vision, great IQ," Kieger said of Sabel. "I mean, Tova went 5-for-7, she should have had way more shots than she did and we should have looked for her more."
Senior transfer Johnasia Cash also started to really come on against Syracuse, recording her first double-double in a Penn State uniform with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while also staying out of foul trouble against a imposing Syracuse frontcourt. Kieger added that her group will learn to recognize when it should feed the low post and play inside-out basketball.
"She's such an aggressive, competitive player," Kieger said of Cash. "It's about knowing when to get Jonashia the ball down low on an easy dump off or knowing who the hot hand was."
Ultimately, the program is still off to its best start since the 2016-2017 season and will look to use its non-conference experience to propel itself to more success once Big Ten tip-off commences.
"I think it's them just getting used to knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses and that's going to come," Kieger said. "That's why you play non-conference games, right? So that you can learn and adjust so when Big Ten play comes, we're ready for those moments."
