UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa- The Penn State Lady Lions couldn't have asked for a much better start to the 2020-21 season in the Bryce Jordan Center. They are on a winning streak, and momentum is building.
Propelled by a highly efficient shooting night on Monday, the group recently cruised to a 87-54 victory over the Saint Francis (Pa.) Red Flash, before completing a thrilling buzzer-beating finish to take down Rhode Island 70-69 on Thursday night back on their home court.
That success has come from impact all over the Lady Lions' roster. After 11 players got in the scoring column in Monday's win, eight Lady Lions scored on Thursday night, with four hitting double figures.
For a team that averaged just over 66 points per game a season ago, Penn State has opened up its 2020-2021 season averaging just over 80 points per game in its first three contests.
Evidently, much of Penn State's early success on the offensive end has come to fruition as a result of holding its first three opponents to over 35% from the field and allowing its defense to create opportunities in transition.
"We always want to have a quicker first three steps than our opponent, either on offense or defense," second-year head coach Carolyn Kieger said. "We've been working on pitching the ball ahead without dribbles, getting our heads up in transition and seeing rim runners. I think they're really starting to understand that concept."
And while suffocating ball pressure and maintaining crisp defensive rotations will continue to be the team's main focus, there is still much credit to be given to a roster constructed of confident scoring threats who are also capable of sharing the ball and making the right basketball play when need be.
"You want to find people that can be versatile, and do numerous different things, whether it's put the ball on the floor or shoot threes, and that's the way we want to play," Kieger said. "When you're well-rounded and anyone can come in the ball game at any point and shoot that shot, make that free throw or make the extra pass, that's when you're hard to guard and hard to scout."
To her teammates and coaching staff, it's been virtually no surprise that graduate transfer Kelly Jekot has led the way at the point of attack for the Lady Lions, especially after the strong offseason she had. Jekot scored her 1,000th career point in the season opener against Coppin State, and celebrated that milestone by dropping 24 points and grabbing 12 boards against St. Francis (Pa.) before adding 11 points against Rhode Island.
"You didn't see her best performance. When you get a double-double and not play your best game, that's saying something right there," Kieger said following the season-opening win against Coppin State. "She's someone that can really stretch the floor and create for others."
Jekot's early contributions have not been unaccompanied. In the season opener against Coppin State, freshman and Sweden native Tova Sabel led the way with 14 points in what was her first game action not only at the collegiate level, but on American soil.
"I thought [Tova] was phenomenal. She got a little nervous for her first game in America, but I thought she settled in really well," Kieger said following that performance. "She can put the ball on the floor, she can shoot the three. She's going to be a prime-time player for us, and I know her teammates are really excited for her as well."
Jekot and Sabel aren't the only newcomers stepping up in Blue and White, with Sabel's fellow freshmen shining all season.
In the team's victory over the Red Flash, another freshmen guard, Constance Thomas, also gave Kieger some valuable minutes. Thomas scored six points and dished out five assists as opposed to just one turnover.
As a group, Kieger generally thinks highly of her freshmen class, and expects it to only improve as the season goes on, which in turn, will push the upperclassman to play harder as well.
"Obviously as they settle in more and get to know the system, bright things ahead for this group," Kieger said. "To be able to have confidence to put them in and hold the starters accountable and really create that competitive nature on your team is something that is going to be so valuable moving into Big Ten play"
If the Lady Lions' early season wonders are indicative of anything, it's that they possess depth and versatility that makes them unpredictable and keeps an opposing defense honest.
"Once we get that ball moving, it's hard to stop us," senior transfer Johnasia Cash said.
"We want to share the basketball and on any given night, it can be anyone's big night," Kieger said. "The way we're playing unselfish basketball, you're going to see that some nights the bench may score 40, and some nights it may score 12 but at the end of the day, it's all going into the same column."
