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Mark Selders

Penn State Heads To #8 Maryland For Regular-Season Finale


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team plays its final game of the regular season Saturday at 3 p.m. when the Lady Lions travel to #8 Maryland for a battle against a Terrapin team that has already clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
 
FOLLOW ALONG

 
OPENING TIPS

  • Penn State faces a tough test to close out the regular season Saturday as the Lady Lions travel to take on #8 Maryland, a team that has already clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
  • The Lady Lions are closing the regular season with four-straight games against Top 25 opponents. Penn State opened that stretch by claiming a signature win over #15 Ohio State on Feb. 24 as PSU secured its first victory over a Top 15 opponent since 2016.
  • Niya Beverley leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the nation with a 4.29 assist-to-turnover ratio. Johnasia Cash has tallied 10 double-doubles on the sesaon.
  • The Lady Lions are the youngest team in the Big Ten with an average age of 19.56 and eight true freshmen on the roster.

 
IF PENN STATE BEATS MARYLAND

  • Penn State would defeat an opponent ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for the first time since Feb. 20, 2012 when the Lady Lions beat No. 8/11 Ohio State, 84-66.
  • The Lady Lions would earn their first victory over the Terrapins since 2003.

 
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS

  • No. 8 Maryland has already clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season title as the first-place Terps own a 20-2 overall record and 16-1 mark in the Big Ten.
  • Maryland owns the nation's top scoring offense with an average of 91.5 points per game.
  • The Terps have won nine straight games. Maryland's only two losses of the year came at Ohio State (86-88) on Jan. 25 and against Missouri State (72-81) on Nov. 28 in just the second game of the season.
  • Maryland owns the most balanced attack in the Big Ten with six different players averaging double-digit points. Ashley Owusu leads the way with 19.0 points per game and 5.9 assists per game. Diamond Miller follows with 17.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.

 
AGAINST MARYLAND

  • Penn State will be looking for its first win over the Terrapins since Maryland joined the Big Ten.
  • Maryland holds a 17-14 lead in the all-time series and the Terrapins have won the last nine meetings.
  • The 14th-ranked Terrapins won the season's first meeting, 96-82, in Happy Valley on New Year's Eve.
  • Freshman Maddie Burke drilled seven three-pointers and Kelly Jekot recorded a double-double, but Penn State couldn't slow down the Terps' potent offense as Maryland earned the 96-82 victory.
  • Burke finished with a career-best 24 points and was 7-for-14 from three-point range. Jekot tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Senior Johnasia Cash rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points.

 
TOUGH TESTS TO CLOSE

  • Penn State is closing the regular season with four-straight games against Top 25 opponents.
  • The Lady Lions opened the four-game stretch with a 69-67 win over #15 Ohio State on Feb. 24. Penn State then faced #24 Rutgers twice in three days on Feb. 28 and March 2.
  • Penn State closes the regular season at #8 Maryland Saturday against a Terrapins team that has already clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title. The Lady Lions will then turn their attention to next week's Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

 
BEVERLEY TURNING IT UP A NOTCH

  • Senior transfer Niya Beverley (previously Wisconsin) currently leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally with a 4.29 assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • Beverley has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games, including two 20-point efforts.
  • The Laurel, Md. native finished with 20 points, seven assists and zero turnovers in Tuesday night's road matchup at #24 Rutgers. She drained four three-pointers and had three and-one opportunities in the strong effort.
  • Beverley went off for a career best 21 points on 82 percent (9-11) shooting in Feb. 24's upset of #15 Ohio State.
  • Beverley has averaged a team-best 13.7 ppg over the last seven games, while shooting 49.3 percent (36-for-73) from the field in that stretch.
  • Beverley was granted immediate eligibility for the start of Big Ten play due to the NCAA's blanket transfer waiver.

 
DEFENSE ON THE RISE

  • Penn State has turned its defense up a notch in the last three games, giving up just 67.0 points per game in the last three contests, compared to its season-long average of 75.5 ppg.
  • The Lady Lions held a #15 Ohio State team that ranked 10th in the country in scoring offense (82.3 ppg) 15.3 points below its season average and kept the Buckeyes without a field goal for the final 4:24 in Feb. 24's 69-67 win.
  • Penn State then held red-hot #25 Rutgers (78.1 ppg) 18.1 points below its season scoring average in tight 60-55 loss on Feb. 28 that was a one-possession game in the final 20 seconds. It was Rutgers' second-lowest scoring output of the season and fewest points since Jan. 3.

 
CASH IS MONEY

  • Senior transfer Johnasia Cash (previously SMU) has recorded 10 double-doubles this season and is averaging 14.7 ppg and 9.4 rpg in Big Ten play. Her season-long averages are 14.3 ppg and 9.0 rpg. Nine of her 10 double-doubles have come in Big Ten play.
  • The McKeesport, Pa. native became the first Penn State player to record double-doubles in four-consecutive games since 1997 when she notched her fourth-straight against Nebraska on Feb. 4. Angie Potthoff was the last PSU player to accomplish the feat 24 years ago.
  • Cash's efficiency has improved greatly in her first year under Head Coach Carolyn Kieger. She's shooting 47.6 percent (129-for-271) from the field this season and was a 36.0 percent (266-for-738) shooter in her three seasons at SMU.
  • Cash's 9.0 rebounds per game rank third in the conference.

 
MARISA COMING INTO HER OWN

  • Makenna Marisa has turned her game up a notch in her sophomore season. She is currently averaging 13.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 5.0 apg compared to her freshman year numbers of 9.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 2.7 apg.
  • Marisa earned Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll status on March 1 after averaging 14.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 5.5 apg against two Top 25 opponents and hitting the game-winning layup against #15 Ohio State.
  • Marisa has gone for 20-plus points on six occasions this season and has tallied 14 double-digit games.

 
A ROOKIE SEASON TO REMEMBER

  • Freshman Maddie Burke ranks fourth amongst all Division I freshmen with 51 three-pointers this season.
  • Her 51 treys already put her in fourth place on Penn State's freshman season three-point FGs made records list with at least two games remaining in the season (one regular season and one guaranteed Big Ten Tournament game), and an already shortened season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Burke hit six three-pointers in back-to-back games at Iowa (Feb. 18) and Nebraska (Feb. 21), making her the first Penn State player to record back-to-back games with six or more three-pointers since former All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year Maggie Lucas '14.
  • Burke has drilled three or more treys in seven of Penn State's last 11 games. The Doylestown, Pa. native has nailed five or more triples four times this season, including a career-best seven against Maryland on Dec. 31.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State turns its attention to next weekend's Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
  • The Lady Lions have secured a first-round bye and will open competition on Wednesday, March 10 in the second round of the tournament.
  • A full bracket with tipoff times and TV designations will be available upon completion of regular-season contests Saturday night.