UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A strong team effort on the defensive end, plus a big day from redshirt freshman guard Leilani Kapinus, powered the Penn State women's basketball team to a 78-58 win over previously unbeaten Youngstown State on Sunday afternoon at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions improved to 6-5 on the season, while the Penguins dropped to 8-1.
Penn State is off to its first 5-0 start at home since the 2017-18 season.
Kapinus led the Lady Lions' charge with a career-best 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. She also stuffed the box score with seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
Anna Camden added her second career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Makenna Marisa tacked on 12 points and Shay Hagans posted nine points and a career-best six steals. Ali Brigham had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench. Penn State shot 48.5 percent from the floor, including nearly 77 percent in the fourth quarter. The blue and white scored 52 points in the paint.
On the defensive end, Penn State held Youngstown State to 28 percent overall and 21 percent from three. The Penguins shot 35 percent or below in the first three quarters. The Lady Lions tallied a season-high 10 blocks, their first time with 10 blocks in a game since December 2, 2018 vs. Jacksonville (15).
Penn State also recorded nine steals, led by Hagans' six, and grabbed 44 rebounds.
The Lady Lions did not allow a YSU field goal (0-of-26) from the 6:04 mark in the first quarter to the 6:35 mark in the third quarter, a stretch of 19:29.
Penn State held Youngstown State without a field goal in the second quarter (0-9) as the Penguins scored on seven free throws.
Youngstown State was paced by three players with nine points, including Lindsey Mack, Malia Magestro and Chelsea Olson.
The first quarter featured a big run by each team. Youngstown State jumped out to a 7-0 lead on their way to a 14-2 advantage. Olson had the first seven, with Paige Shy contributing five and Lilly Ritz scoring on a layup. The Lady Lions answered with their own 12-2 run to close the quarter. Brigham ignited the run with a layup before back-to-back layups by Kapinus and a pair of baskets at the rim by Burke. After a pair of free throws by YSU's Magestro, a bucket by Marisa closed out the quarter with PSU trailing 16-14.
Penn State continued its hot stretch from the first quarter, beginning the second frame on a 17-1 run. Camden started the run with a three and contributed nine points during the stretch. Kapinus had a pair of layups to go with a jumper by Marisa and a layup by Sabel to give the blue and White a 31-17 lead. Penn State went into the break with a 36-23 lead. The Lady Lions shot 56 percent (9-of-16) in the quarter.
A 7-0 run by the Penguins in the third quarter, including five points by Megan Callahan, closed the gap to 42-34 Penn State. However, layups by Brigham and Burke pushed the lead back to double-digits, 46-36, to end the third.
The Lady Lions set the tone early in the fourth quarter thanks to a great individual effort by Hagans. She had steals on four-straight Penguin possessions plus six points on two layups and a pair of free throws to immediately put Penn State back ahead by 22 points with 8:21 left in the contest. YSU closed the deficit to 13 at the 4:18 mark, 65-52, but Kapinus hit a pair of threes and a layup to lead Penn State to the final margin, 78-58.
Penn State continues its non-conference schedule at Duquesne on Saturday, December 18. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. with a broadcast on ESPN+.
