Penn State Travels To #22 Syracuse Sunday For Battle of the UnbeatensPenn State Travels To #22 Syracuse Sunday For Battle of the Unbeatens
PSU Athletics/Selders

Penn State Travels To #22 Syracuse Sunday For Battle of the Unbeatens


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team faces its first road test of the season Sunday afternoon when the Lady Lions travel to the Carrier Dome to take on #22 Syracuse. Tip off is set for 2 PM and the game will be nationally televised on the ACC Network.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State travels to #22 Syracuse Sunday afternoon for a battle of the unbeatens and the Lady Lions' first road test of the season.
  • Penn State is 3-0 on the season behind a pair of 30-plus point wins in the first two games of the season and a thrilling 70-69 victory over Rhode Island in PSU's most recent game Thursday night. Sophomore Makenna Marisa hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating layup to seal the win over Rhode Island.
  • Penn State's balanced offense has seen six different Lady Lions score in double figures thus far. Graduate transfer Kelly Jekot has made an immediate impact, leading the team with 15.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS #22 SYRACUSE

  • Penn State would start the season 4-0 for the first time since 2017-18.
  • Penn State would beat a team that is ranked in the top 25 of at least one of the national polls for the first time since Jan. 18, 2018 when the Lady Lions defeated visiting #25/21 Rutgers, 70-67.

 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION

  • The #22 Orange enter Sunday's game with a 2-0 record after wins at Stony Brook (Nov. 29, 50-39) and against Lincoln (PA) (Dec. 2, 90-39).
  • Kamilla Cardoso leads Syracuse with 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game.
  • Priscilla Williams (13.0 ppg) and Tiana Mangakahia (12.0 ppg) are also averaging double-digit points.
  • Mangakahia led the Orange to its season-opening victory at Stony Brook with a team-best 16 points and seven rebounds.
  • Syracuse finished the 2019-20 season with a 16-15 overall record and 9-9 mark in ACC play.

 
AGAINST THE ORANGE

  • Penn State and Syracuse will be meeting for the 20th time and first since 2014.
  • The Lady Lions hold a 16-3 advantage in the all-time series, but Syracuse has won the last two matchups.
  • Penn State is 7-3 all-time when playing Syracuse on the road as compared to its 9-0 record when playing at home.
  • Syracuse won the last meeting between the two teams, 61-39, on Dec. 14, 2014.

 
AT THE BUZZER!

  • Penn State secured its first 3-0 start to the season since 2017-18 in thrilling fashion Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • Sophomore Makenna Marisa hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating layup to seal the 70-69 victory over the Rams. Marisa led the team with a career high-tying 17 points in addition to six assists and five rebounds.
  • Marisa's game-winner marked the first time that a Penn State player hit a game-winning field goal with less than 10 seconds to play since Julia Trogele did so on Jan. 27, 2011 at Illinois.
  • Sophomore Shay Hagans followed with a career-best 16 points. Senior Johnasia Cash added 13 points and eight rebounds, while graduate student Kelly Jekot rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points.

 
HISTORIC START TO THE SEASON

  • Penn State's first two wins were fueled by a pair of 30-plus point victories as the Lady Lions took down Coppin State 84-45 on Nov. 25 before defeating St. Francis (Pa.) 87-54 on Nov. 30.
  • The large margins of victory (39 over Coppin State and 33 over St. Francis) marked the first time in nearly 10 years that Penn State recorded back-to-back 30-plus point wins. The last time PSU beat back-to-back opponents by 30 or more points was in 2010 when the Lady Lions defeated Army (95-65) on Dec. 8 and Maine (95-41) on Dec. 12.
  • It was also the first time PSU has opened a season with consecutive 30-point victories in nearly 40 years, dating back to Dec. 2 & 5, 1980, when it started off the season with wins over Howard (82-44) and Fairleigh Dickinson (106-66).

 
SUPER SOPHOMORES

  • Penn State's three-member freshmen class of Anna Camden, Shay Hagans and Makenna Marisa are the only three players on the PSU roster who had seen court time under Kieger prior to this season, and are being relied upon as key on-court and culture leaders in 2020-21.
  • Marisa currently ranks third in Division I with 19 assists thus far this season.
  • Hagans has averaged 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in Penn State's three games. She is coming off a career night against Rhode Island, setting new personal bests in points (16) and three-point makes (3).
  • Camden recorded her first career double-double in the season opener with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

 
TRANSFERS MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT

  • Graduate transfer Kelly Jekot (previously Villanova) and senior Johnasia Cash (previously SMU) have made an immediate impact for Penn State.
  • Jekot leads the team with 15.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and has recorded double-doubles in two of Penn State's games thus far this season. Jekot tallied just one double-double in her three years at Villanova and has flourished under Kieger's system, notching the second and third double-doubles of her career in Penn State's first two games.
  • Jekot scored the 1,000th point of her career with her 11th point of the game against Coppin State. Jekot scored 990 points during her three years at Villanova from 2016-2019. She transferred to Penn State in January 2020 and sat out the entirety of the 2019-2020 season with an injury.
  • Cash currently ranks second on the team with 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest. The SMU transfer came to Penn State over the offseason and was granted immediate eligibility for 2020-21. Cash, a McKeesport, Pa. native, provides key post presence for Kieger's squad and is coming off a 13-point, 8-rebound performance against Rhode Island Thursday night. She scored all 13 points in the second half. 

 
NEW FACES? NO PROBLEM!

  • Penn State's 2020-21 roster features eight freshmen and five transfers who are seeing their first court time in in the Blue and White this season.
  • The eight freshmen, all true freshmen, are tied for the national lead in number of freshmen on Division I rosters. Oral Roberts and Incarnate Word also have eight freshmen on their rosters. Penn State is the only team with eight freshmen that is 3-0 on the season.
  • Penn State is ranked as the seventh-youngest team in Division I, and the youngest in the Big Ten, with an average age of 19.56. The Lady Lions are the only team that is 3-0 amongst the seven youngest teams in Division I.
  • Penn State has 12 players that have two or less years of Division I playing experience, which equates to 75 percent of its roster. The 12 rostered players with two or less years of DI playing experience is tied for ninth-most amongst all Division I rosters.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State has the potential to add one more non-conference game to its schedule before turning its attention to Big Ten play, which opens Dec. 20 at home against Purdue.