Penn State Travels To Boston College For Big Ten/ACC ChallengePenn State Travels To Boston College For Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Mark Selders

Penn State Travels To Boston College For Big Ten/ACC Challenge

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team is back on the road to take on Boston College on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The contest will be broadcast on ACC Network.

The Lady Lions, led by head coach Carolyn Kieger, are 4-3 this season after going 1-2 at the Gulf Coast Showcase, including an 80-75 win over St. John's.

FOLLOW ALONG

OPENING TIP

  • Penn State meets Boston College in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup on Thursday.
  • The teams meet for the fourth time between the programs.
  • Penn State is 5-9 all-time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and will take on the Eagles for the third time in the challenge.
  • The Lady Lions suffered an 81-74 setback against Kent State on the final day of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
  • Makenna Marisa led four in double-figures with 23 points. Shay Hagans added a season-high 15 points, while Niya Beverley had 14 and Anna Camden contributed 10.
  • Marisa has scored at least 11 points in all seven games this season, including five 20-point games and a 30-point performance vs. Delaware State.
  • Penn State sits 18th in the country, averaging 80.7 points per game.
  • Makenna Marisa ranks fifth in the country, and leads the Big Ten, averaging 22.4 points per game.
  • She also paces the conference in total points (157) and field goals made (58).
  • Ali Brigham sits fifth in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (57.6) and third in blocks per game (1.43).

 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES

  • Boston College is led by head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee in her fourth season.
  • In 2019-20, Bernabei-McNamee led the Eagles to a 20-12 record and was named ACC Coach of the Year.
  • The Eagles are 5-1 this season.
  • Boston College is coming off a 77-65 win over Albany last Sunday.
  • Makayla Dickens led the team with 21 points off the bench. Taylor Soule contributed 17 points and Ally VanTimmerman added 15 points.
  • Boston College is averaging 74.2 points per game, led by Soule's 19.0 points per contest. Dickens is averaging 11.2.
  • The Eagles are allowing 60.5 points per game.

 
AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE

  • Penn State will meet Boston College for the fourth time in program history.
  • The Lady Lions hold a 2-1 record against the Eagles.
  • In the last matchup, Penn State won 60-56 on November 30, 2016.
  • Teniya Page led the Lady Lions with 24 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 21 seconds remaining.

 
BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE HISTORY

  • Penn State is 5-9 all-time in Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchups.
  • The Lady Lions fell 82-72 at Syracuse in 2020.
  • Penn State's last Big Ten/ACC Challenge win came in 2019, a 78-73 victory over Pittsburgh.
  • Penn State is 1-1 against Boston College, including a 60-56 road win in 2016.
  • The blue and white has played Boston College, Florida State and Syracuse in two Big Ten/ACC Challenge games each.
  • Penn State owns two wins over ranked teams in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge: No. 10 Duke in 2007 (86-84) and No. 14 North Carolina in 2011 (103-84).

 
B1G HONOR

  • Junior Makenna Marisa was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week on November 22.
  • It was Marisa's first career Big Ten weekly honor.
  • She recorded a triple-double in Penn State's 120-51 win over Delaware State on November 16 and followed with a 29-point, eight-assist performance at Clemson on November 21.
  • Marisa notched 30 points, on 12-of-16 shooting, 11 assists and 10 steals against the Hornets. 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 history.
  • 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).
  • Marisa scored at least 11 points in all seven games this season and has 20+ points in five games.

 
LADY LIONS RANK AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS

  • Penn State's numbers sit among the best in the nation and Big Ten early in the season.
  • The Lady Lions sit 18th in the country averaging 80.7 points per game.
  • Penn State ranks 28th in the nation and fourth in the conference averaging 17.4 assists per game. The Lady Lions have at least 20 assists in three games this season.
  • Penn State is fifth in the Big Ten in three-point field goals per game (8.3).
  • PSU sits fourth in the Big Ten in steals per game (10.7).
  • Makenna Marisa ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring (22.4 ppg), good for fifth in the country. She also paces the conference and sits fourth in total points (157).
  • Marisa also holds fifth in the Big Ten in assists per game (5.4), ranking 33rd in the nation, and holds fourth in total assists (38), good for 19th in the country. She's also fifth in the conference averaging 2.7 three-pointers per game.

 
MULTIPLE CONTRIBUTORS

  • Penn State has five players averaging at least seven points this season, led by Marisa's 22.4 average.
  • Ali Brigham is averaging 12.3 points per contest and reached the 20-point mark vs. LIU (20) and Rider (23), while Niya Beverley is scoring 9.9 points per game, including a 20-point effort vs. Rider.
  • Anna Camden is averaging 7.7 points per game and Shay Hagans is scoring 7.1 points per contest.
  • Penn State has also balanced out its minutes with nine players averaging at least 11.5 minutes per game.

 
BRIGHAM DOMINATING THE PAINT

  • 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 became the first Lady Lion to score 20+ points in the first two games of a season since Brianna Banks in 2015.
  • She collected her first career double-double against St. John's with 19 points, on 8-of-12 shooting, and 10 rebounds.
  • She had 10 points against No. 13 Iowa State.
  • Through seven games, Brigham ranks fifth in field-goal percentage (57.6), 10th in field goals made (38) and third in blocks per game (1.4).

 
RECORD-SETTING NIGHT VS. DELAWARE STATE

  • 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.

 
NON-CONFERENCE SLATE

  • Penn State opened its 11-game non-conference slate against LIU.
  • The Lady Lions' first three contests were played at the Bryce Jordan Center against LIU (11/9), Rider (11/11) and Delaware State (11/16).
  • Penn State's non-con continued at Clemson on Sunday, November 21. The Tigers reached the 2021 WNIT Second Round.
  • The Lady Lions then traveled to the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida. Penn State opened the tournament against St. John's on November 26.
  • On November 27, Penn State faced Iowa State in the Gulf Coast Showcase. Iowa State was a 2021 NCAA Tournament team.
  • The Lady Lions took on Kent State on the final day of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
  • Penn State meets 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. 6 Indiana, No. 8 Maryland, No. 9 Iowa, No. 12 Michigan and No. 18 Ohio State. Purdue 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 opens Big Ten play at No. 6 Indiana on Monday, December 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Assembly Hall with a broadcast on Big Ten Network.