UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team travels to Clemson for its first road contest of the season on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Littlejohn Coliseum with a broadcast on ACC Network.
The Lady Lions, led by head coach Carolyn Kieger, are off to a 3-0 start after a 120-51 win over Delaware State last Tuesday.
FOLLOW ALONG
- Video: ACC Network (Roy Philpott, Brooke Weisbrod)
- 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 | Clemson
OPENING TIP
- Penn State takes on Clemson for a non-conference matchup and its first road contest of the season.
- The teams will meet for the seventh time in series history.
- Penn State is 5-1 in the previous six matchups.
- The Lady Lions are coming off a 120-51 win over Delaware State and set multiple program records.
- Penn State set program records for points (120), assists (37) and field goals (50), while earning its third-largest margin of victory.
- PSU's 37 assists tied the Big Ten record, set by Maryland in 2017.
- PSU also had a Bryce Jordan Center-record 25 steals.
- Makenna Marisa recorded a triple-double with 30 points (12-of-16), 11 assists and 10 steals. It was PSU's first triple-double since Suzie McConnell in 1988.
- Marisa's triple-double is the 25th points-assists-steals triple-double in NCAA Division I history and the 20th 30-point triple-double.
- Penn State will look for its 17th 4-0 start in program history.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
- Clemson is led by Amanda Butler in her fourth season. She has a 41-52 record at Clemson and a 271-211 career mark. She led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament second round in 2018-19 and a WNIT second round appearance in 2020-21.
- The Tigers opened the season with a 64-47 win over USC Upstate but fell 82-78 against Columbia and 76-45 against No. 1 South Carolina last week.
- Against the Gamecocks, Gabby Elliott led the squad with 11 points.
- Clemson is averaging 62.3 points per game and shooting 36 percent from the field and 21 percent from three.
- Graduate guards Delicia Washington and Kiara Lewis are tied for the team lead averaging 12.7 points per game. Lewis is also averaging 7.0 rebounds per contest and ranks second in the ACC with 10 steals.
- On defense, Clemson is allowing 68.3 points per game and a 41 percent field-goal percentage.
AGAINST THE TIGERS
- Penn State has won five of six matchups in the series, including the last two.
- The Lady Lions claimed a 68-55 victory over the Tigers in Happy Valley in 2019.
- Siyeh Frazier led Penn State with 17 points and 10 rebounds in that game. Kamaria McDaniel contributed 13 points, while Anna Camden had 11. Lauren Ebo added 16 points off the bench.
- The Lady Lions held Clemson to 33 percent from the field and 18 percent from three in that game.
MESSED AROUND, GOT A TRIPLE-DOUBLE
- Junior Makenna Marisa recorded a triple-double in Penn State's 120-51 win over Delaware State.
- Marisa notched 30 points, on 12-of-16 shooting, 11 assists and 10 steals.
- Her points, assists and steals totals were all career highs.
- Marisa's triple-double was Penn State's first since Suzie McConnell on January 3, 1988 (22 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists in a 74-63 win vs. Western Kentucky).
- Marisa's triple-double is the 25th Points-Assists-Steals triple-double and 20th 30-point triple-double in NCAA Division I hitory.
- It's also the third 30-point triple-double and second Points-Assists-Steals triple-double in Big Ten history.
- Marisa had Penn State's 79th 30-point game and became the first Lady Lion with double-digit assists in a game since Dara Taylor (10 vs. Minnesota, 2014).
RECORD-SETTING NIGHT
- Penn State achieved multiple records and milestones in its Delaware State game.
- The Lady Lions set a record for their most points in a game with 120, topping the previous record of 118, accomplished three times, last against Morgan state in 1993.
- The 120 points are the third-most by a Big Ten team.
- Penn State matched the program record for made field goals with 50, tying 50 vs. Morgan State in 1993.
- The 50 field goals are tied for the third-most in Big Ten history.
- The Lady Lions tallied a program-record 37 assists, which also matched the Big Ten record set by Maryland in 2017 (vs. Loyola (Md.)).
- Penn State's 25 steals are the most in a game at the Bryce Jordan Center and are tied for eighth-most by a Big Ten team.
- The Lady Lions reached the 100-point mark for the 50th time in program history and had five players in double-figures (Makenna Marisa 30, Niya Beverley 17, Tova Sabel 17, Anna Camden 14, Shay Hagans 12).
- The Lady Lions scored 56 points in the first half and 64 in the second half.
- Penn State finished the game shooting 56.2 percent and was above 50 percent in each quarter.
IMPRESSIVE DEBUT
- Sophomore forward Ali Brigham made a big impact in her first game as a Lady Lion, vs. LIU, after transferring from George Washington, scoring 20 points and tallying nine rebounds and three blocks. She followed that with a 23-point performance against Rider, shooting 11-of-13 from the floor.
- Brigham is the first Lady Lion to score 20+ points in the first two games of a season since Brianna Banks in 2015.
- Through the three games, Brigham ranks ninth in the Big Ten in points per game (17.0), first in field-goal percentage (71.9), eighth in field goals made (23) and third in blocks (5) and blocks per game (1.67).
OFFENSE RANKS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
- Penn State's offensive numbers sit among the best in the nation and Big Ten early in the season.
- The Lady Lions are pacing the Big Ten and rank sixth in points per game (96.0).
- Penn State is second in the conference in field-goal percentage (52.1), good for 10th in the nation.
- The Lady Lions lead the Big Ten in both three-point field goals (32) and three-point field goals per game (10.7), good for eighth and seventh, respectively, in the nation.
- Penn State paces the Big Ten and ranks second in the country in assists per game (26.0) and third in the nation in total assists (78).
- The Lady Lions have at least 20 assists in all three games this season.
- Makenna Marisa ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring (23.0 ppg), good for 15th in the country.
- Marisa also leads the Big Ten in three-pointers made (12) and three-pointers made per game (4.0), ranking among the nation's Top 10 in both.
- She's also 23rd in the nation in assists (19) and assists per game (6.3).
NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
- Penn State opened its 11-game non-conference slate against LIU.
- The Lady Lions' first three contests will be played at the Bryce Jordan Center against LIU (11/9), Rider (11/11) and Delaware State (11/16).
- Penn State's non-con continues at Clemson on Sunday, November 21. The Tigers reached the 2021 WNIT Second Round.
- The Lady Lions then travel to the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida. Penn State will open the tournament against St. John's on November 26.
- On November 27, Penn State will face either Iowa State or Charlotte in the Gulf Coast Showcase. Iowa State was a 2021 NCAA Tournament team, while Charlotte was a 2021 WNIT participant.
- Penn State takes on Boston College in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Thursday, December 2.
- The non-conference schedule closes out with home games against Youngstown State (12/12) and Towson (12/22) and a road matchup at Duquesne (12/18).
STRENGTH OF THE BIG TEN
- The AP Poll features five Big Ten teams: No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Indiana, No. 8 Iowa, No. 13 Michigan and No. 21 Ohio State. Michigan State is among teams receiving votes.
- Penn State opens Big Ten play at Indiana on December 6.
- The Lady Lions played 10 ranked opponents in 2020-21, the most among Big Ten schools, and earned a 69-67 win over No. 15 Ohio State on February 24, 2021.
UP NEXT
- Penn State travels to Estero, Fla. for the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Lady Lions open the three-day tournament on Friday, Nov. 26 against St. John's. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. with a broadcast on FloHoops.
- Penn State will meet either Iowa State or Charlotte on Saturday, Nov. 27, time TBD, and will finish the invitational on Sunday, Nov. 28.