EVANSTON, Ill. – The Penn State women's basketball team came out with the victory in a hard-fought 63-59 win over Northwestern on Thursday night in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Lady Lions were a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line and forced 11 steals. Penn State improved to 9-7 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play. Northwestern dropped to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in conference.
Makenna Marisa earned her 10th 20-point game of the season with 20 points. She went 10-of-10 at the free throw line, including the final six of the game, and grabbed seven rebounds and two steals. Leilani Kapinus reached double-figures for the fourth-straight game, and fifth time in the last six games, with 15 points. Kapinus added eight rebounds, five steals and a block.
Ali Brigham contributed nine points and five rebounds, while Anna Camden had eight points and six boards. Penn State shot 36.7 percent from the field, but got a big boost from the free throw line. Kelly Jekot added six rebounds and six assists. Penn State forced 18 turnovers, collecting 11 steals.
Northwestern was paced by Veronica Burton's 16 points, seven assists and five steals. Caileigh Walsh added 11 points while Laya Hartman had 10. Northwestern shot 35 percent from the field.
Penn State trailed by four after a tight first quarter. The Lady Lions jumped out to an 8-4 advantage on a pair of threes by Marisa and Burke and a layup by Kapinus. A three by Northwestern's Burton tied the game at 12-12 at the 1:57 mark and NU extended its lead to four on layups by Burton and Lauryn Satterwhite. Kapinus and NU's Walsh traded layups to close out the quarter with Northwestern leading 18-14.
The Lady Lions closed the deficit to one, 18-17, on a three by Anna Camden to open the second quarter. The Wildcats responded with layups by Paige Mott and Melannie Daley. However, a layup by Kapinus ignited a 9-0 run by the Lady Lions. Kapinus contributed six of the nine points while Camden added a three. After a three by Northwestern's Jillian Brown, Penn State extended its lead back to three on a pair of free throws by Marisa. A free throw by NU's Burton and Courtney Shaw sent the teams into the break even at 28-28.
A tight third quarter ended with the Lady Lions leading, 42-41. Northwestern scored the first four points of the quarter, but Penn State evened the game back up at 32-32 after layups by Tova Sabel and Marisa. Threes by NU's Burton and Satterwhite were answered by a Kapinus layup and a three-point play by Brigham to pull PSU within one, 38-37, at the 3:01 mark. Northwestern extended its lead back to four on a three by Hartman. However, a layup by Camden and a three by Marisa closed out the quarter with the Lady Lions in front.
Penn State closed out the win by hitting all nine free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats took the lead, 49-48, on a three-point play by Daley with 5:15 left in the game. However, Brigham answered with back-to-back buckets to re-take the lead, 52-49, with 4:08 remaining. After a Northwestern three by Satterwhite and a jumper from Walsh, Penn State answered on a bucket from Kelly Jekot to beat the shot clock with 1:39 remaining to tie the game at 54-54. Thirty seconds later, Kapinus recorded a steal and finished a layup through contact before hitting the free throw to complete the three-point play and put Penn State ahead, 57-54. Marisa went six-of-six from the free throw line in the final 13 seconds to close out the victory.
The Lady Lions visit Wisconsin on Sunday, January 23. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET on B1G+.
