UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – March is here and the Penn State women's basketball team is set to open up postseason play in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday evening from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The No. 10 seed Lady Lions face No. 7 seed Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and the game will be nationally televised on FS2.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: FS2 – Lisa Byington (play-by-play) & Christy Winters Scott (analyst)
- Radio: 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: Big Ten Digital Program
OPENING TIPS
- Postseason play begins Wednesday when 10th-seeded Penn State faces seventh-seeded Michigan State in the second round of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament.
- Freshman Maddie Burke was named the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year in addition to earning a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
- Senior Johnasia Cash was voted as a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the media, while sophomore Makenna Marisa earned honorable mention All-Big Ten laurels.
- Penn State played more games against Top 25 opponents than any other Big Ten Team this season as the Lady Lions played 10 contests against ranked foes. 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 MICHIGAN STATE
- Penn State would advance to Thursday's Big Ten Quarterfinals to take on second-seeded Indiana at 6:30 p.m.
- The Lady Lions would beat the Spartans in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since the 2004 semifinals.
TOURNEY TIME!
- March Madness is here and Penn State opens up postseason play in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday against Michigan State.
- Penn State will be looking for its first Big Ten Tournament championship since its back-to-back tourney titles in 1995 and 1996.
- A win on Wednesday would advance Penn State to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. That 2014 Lady Lion team was the No. 1 overall seed and opened the tournament in the quarterfinals.
- The Lady Lions are 2-2 all-time against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE FOR THE YOUNGEST TEAM
- Penn State played more games against Top 25 opponents than any other Big Ten team this season. The Lady Lions are the youngest team in the Big Ten and the ninth youngest team in the country.
- The Lady Lions faced off against ranked foes 10 times this season - 43.5% of Penn State's completed games were against Top 25 opponents.
- Iowa and Wisconsin both followed with nine games against Top 25 foes.
- Penn State played home-and-home series against the top three teams in the Big Ten in Maryland, Indiana and Rutgers.
- Penn State's 2020-21 roster features eight freshmen and four 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 11 players that have two or less years of Division I playing experience, which equates to 73.3 percent of its roster.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
- Michigan State earned the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament by way of an 8-7 record in Big Ten play that is part of a 13-7 overall mark.
- Seven of the Spartans' eight conference wins came against teams that finished in the bottom five of the Big Ten standings. MSU's only win over a Big Ten team that finished ahead of the Spartans in the standings came on Dec. 12, an 86-82 win over Iowa.
- Michigan State is led by first-team All-Big Ten selection Nia Clouden who averages 18.0 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. Alyza Winston follows with 10.7 points per game, while Alisia Smith chips in 9.6 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per contest.
AGAINST THE SPARTANS
- Penn State will be looking to avenge a regular-season loss to the Spartans when the teams meet in Wednesday's Big Ten Tournament second round.
- Michigan State used a fast start to capture a 78-65 win over Penn State on Feb. 13 in Happy Valley. The Spartans were hot out of the gate, leading 22-11 after the first quarter and 48-26 at halftime. Penn State put together a second-half surge, out-scoring Michigan State 39-30 in the second half, but it wasn't enough as MSU walked away with the 78-65 win.
- Johnasia Cash tallied a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Anna Camden recorded a then career-best 16 points. Niya Beverley and Makenna Marisa both finished with 14 points.
- Penn State and Michigan State have met four times in the Big Ten Tournament, most recently in the 2013 semifinals, with the B1G Tourney series square at 2-2 all-time.
POSTSEASON AWARDS HAUL
- Freshman Maddie Burke was named the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, in addition to being a unanimous pick by the conference coaches for the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
- Senior Johnasia Cash earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, while sophomore Makenna Marisa was named honorable mention All-Big Ten.
- Graduate student Kelly Jekot was named Penn State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
- More information can be found HERE.
BALANCED ATTACK
- Penn State has seen significant scoring from up and down its lineup this season as eight different players have put together double-digit scoring games and five players have gone off for 20-plus points.
- Only three Lady Lion players recorded 20-plus point games last season, and none of those three players are on this year's Penn State team.
- Makenna Marisa leads the team with six 20-point games, while Johnasia Cash has tallied a team-best 17 double-digit scoring performances.
BEVERLEY TURNING IT UP A NOTCH
- Senior transfer Niya Beverley (previously Wisconsin) currently leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally with a 3.88 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Beverley has been Penn State's most consistent player down the final stretch of the regular season, scoring in double figures in seven of the final eight games, including two 20-point efforts.
- She has averaged a team-best 13.9 ppg over the last eight games, while shooting 47.2 percent (42-for-89) from the field in that stretch, and playing a team-high 37.1 minutes per contest.
- The Laurel, Md. native finished with 20 points, seven assists and zero turnovers in the March 2 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.
- The guard has flourished in her first year under head coach Carolyn Kieger's system. She is shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from three-point range this year, compared to her junior year numbers of 34.5 FG% and 33.3 3FG% at Wisconsin.
- Beverley played her first three seasons at Wisconsin and was granted immediate eligibility for the start of Big Ten play thanks to the NCAA's blanket transfer waiver.
DISCIPLINED BASKETBALL
- Penn State leads the Big Ten in fewest fouls per game, averaging just 15.4 personal fouls per contest.
- The Lady Lions committed a season-low nine personal fouls twice this season: at Iowa (Feb. 18) and against Rutgers (Feb. 28).
- Penn State is averaging just 10.7 fouls per game over its last three games.
UP NEXT
- The winner of Wednesday's second round game advances to Thursday's quarterfinals to face second-seeded Indiana. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 9 in the country in this week's AP Poll. Tipoff of that quarterfinal matchup is slated for 6:30 p.m. on FS2.