UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team faces its fourth nationally-ranked opponent in its last five games Sunday afternoon when the Lady Lions welcome #22/23 Northwestern to the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
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- 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
- Digital Program: Digital Program
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State returns home fresh off a midweek bye to host its fourth nationally-ranked opponent in the last five games when the Lady Lions take on #22/23 Northwestern inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Penn State is coming off its first Big Ten win of the season. The Lady Lions earned a 69-60 win at Minnesota last Sunday, their first road win against the Gophers in nearly nine years.
- Penn State's balanced offense has shined this season as eight different Lady Lions have scored in double figures throughout the first nine games. Graduate transfer Kelly Jekot leads the team with 15.9 ppg. Makenna Marisa (13.2 ppg) and Johnasia Cash (12.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg) are also averaging double-digit points.
IF PENN STATE BEATS NORTHWESTERN
- Penn State would beat a team that is ranked in the top 25 of the national polls for the first time since Jan. 18, 2018 when the Lady Lions defeated visiting #25/21 Rutgers, 70-67.
- Penn State would earn its second-straight win.
- The Lady Lions would move to 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
- #22/23 Northwestern enters Sunday's contest with a 6-2 overall record and 4-2 mark in Big Ten play. The Wildcats will be playing their first contest since Jan. 9. Northwestern was scheduled to travel to Rutgers Thursday night, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Rutgers program.
- Northwestern's four Big Ten wins have come against Minnesota (80-51), Purdue (70-54), Wisconsin (80-55) and Iowa (77-67). The Wildcats have dropped conference contests to Nebraska (63-65) and Michigan (63-84).
- The Wildcats are coming off a historic 2019-20 season in which they won their first Big Ten regular-season championship in 30 years.
- Veronica Burton leads the team with 17.5 ppg and 43 assists. Sydney Wood (14.9 ppg) and Lindsey Pulliam (13.5 ppg) are also key contributors.
AGAINST NORTHWESTERN
- Penn State leads the all-time series 38-10, but the Wildcats have won the last three meetings.
- The Lady Lions hold a 21-2 all-time advantage when playing Northwestern in Happy Valley.
- The teams met twice last season, with Northwestern winning both contests. The Wildcats won the season's first meeting on Jan. 19 in Evanston, Ill. by a score of 85-59 before winning the second matchup, 82-59, on Feb. 2 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
B1G ROAD WIN
- A strong second half and a total team effort led Penn State to its first road win at Minnesota in nearly nine years as the Lady Lions took down the Gophers 69-60 in their most recent game on Sunday, Jan. 10.
- Penn State picked up its first win in Minneapolis since Feb. 5, 2012 and the Lady Lions earned their first conference victory of the season. Graduate transfer Kelly Jekot led the team with 15 points. Senior Johnasia Cash recorded her second-straight double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Maddie Burke rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13 points.
- The Lady Lions recorded their best defensive effort of Big Ten play, holding the Gophers to just 60 points and a 31.3 percent (20-for-64) mark from the field. It was the fewest points Penn State allowed a Big Ten opponent to score since the Lady Lions held Michigan State to 57 on Feb. 27, 2019.
DEFENDING THE ARC
- Penn State is holding opponents to a 24.3 percent clip from three-point range, a mark that ranks 27th in Division I and second in the Big Ten.
- The Lady Lions will be facing a Northwestern team that ranks 12th in the conference with a 29.1 three-point FG percentage.
INTO THE FIRE
- The strength of the Big Ten is on full display as Penn State is wrapping up a stretch of facing four top-25 opponents in its last five games.
- The Big Ten currently has five teams in the AP Top 25. Two other Big Ten teams are receiving votes in the poll.
TRANSFERS MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT
- Graduate transfer Kelly Jekot (previously Villanova), senior Johnasia Cash (previously SMU) and senior Niya Beverley (previously Wisconsin) have all made an immediate impact for Penn State.
- Jekot leads the team with 15.9 points per game and has recorded double-doubles in three of Penn State's nine games this season. Jekot tallied just one double-double in her three years at Villanova and has flourished under Kieger's system.
- Cash currently ranks third on the team with 12.1 points and first with 7.9 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, is coming off back-to-back double-doubles against #19 Indiana (19 p, 17 r) and Minnesota (14 p, 12 r). Her 17 rebounds against the Hoosiers were the most by a Penn State player since 2017 and the second most by a Big Ten player this season.
- Senior Niya Beverley (previously Wisconsin) was granted immediate eligibility for Big Ten play thanks to the NCAA's blanket transfer waiver. She recorded a 14-point and 5-rebound performance at #16 Ohio State on Jan. 4. Beverley was a huge spark in Penn State's win at Minnesota, hitting buzzer-beating three-pointers to end both the first and third quarters against the Gophers.
YOUNGEST TEAM IN THE BIG TEN
- 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 ranked as the ninth-youngest team in Division I, and the youngest in the Big Ten, with an average age of 19.56.
- 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 is scheduled to travel to Rutgers Thursday night for a 7 p.m. tipoff against the Scarlet Knights.