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Mark Selders

Kelly Jekot

Women’s Basketball Welcomes Minnesota For Senior Day Sunday


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team concludes its regular season, hosting Minnesota on Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center with a broadcast on B1G+.

Penn State will celebrate Senior Day, presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, honoring Niya Beverley and Kelly Jekot.

The Lady Lions, led by head coach Carolyn Kieger, are 11-16 overall and 5-12 in Big Ten play. Penn State looks to bounce back after falling 78-55 at No. 17 Ohio State on Thursday. Leilani Kapinus earned her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

FOLLOW ALONG

PARKING
All Penn State Athletics non-football events will require a valid permit or payment of the applicable parking fee for campus lots. Complimentary parking will no longer be issued for season ticket holders.
 
Fans with valid Penn State University Park parking permits will be permitted to park at non-football athletics events for free, following Transportation Services parking policies and access.
 
Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate through ParkMobile - https://psu.parkmobile.io/. Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event. Season packages will be available for general parking for most sports, and information on VIP parking options available for select events will be released later.
 
Please visit the 2021-22 Women's Basketball Parking  page for additional information.
 
Non-football event parking is managed by Penn State Transportation Services. For more information on parking for this event, please email parking@psu.edu or call 814-865-1436. 
 
OPENING TIP

  • Penn State concludes the regular season with a matchup against Minnesota.
  • The Lady Lions will celebrate Senior Day, including Niya Beverley and Kelly Jekot.
  • Penn State leads the all-time series, 29-22.
  • The Lady Lions look to bounce back after falling 78-55 at No. 17 Ohio State on Thursday.
  • Leilani Kapinus recorded her second double-double this season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
  • Niya Beverley led PSU with 12 points, while Makenna Marisa scored 10.
  • Marisa now has 602 points this season, becoming the sixth Lady Lion (10th occasion) to reach the 600-point mark in a season.
  • Marisa holds eighth in the country, averaging 22.3 points per game, and has reached double-digits in all 27 games.
  • Kapinus ranks second in the Big Ten in total blocks (31) and total steals (56).
  • She is one of seven Division I players with 30+ blocks and 55+ steals this season.
  • Penn State is one of four Division I teams with three players owning 27 or more blocks, including Kapinus, Ali Brigham (30) and Anna Camden (27).
  • The Lady Lions pace the Big Ten with 264 total steals.

 
SCOUTING MINNESOTA

  • Minnesota is led by head coach Lindsay Whalen.
  • Whalen is in her fourth season at Minnesota with a 58-55 record.
  • After a standout career for the Golden Gophers, Whalen played 15 seasons in the WNBA with the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx.
  • Minnesota ranks ninth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (69.5 ppg) and 12th in scoring defense (71.6).
  • The Gophers lead the Big Ten, and rank 10th in the nation, with 245 three-pointers made. They also sit sixth in the nation in three-point percentage (37.9).
  • Sara Scalia leads Minnesota averaging 17.3 points per game. She ranks fifth in the country in three-pointers per game (3.21) and third in total three-pointers made (93).
  • Jasmine Powell is averaging 12.2 points per contest, while Deja Winters is averaging 11.9.

 
AGAINST THE GOLDEN GOPHERS

  • Penn State will meet Minnesota for the 52nd time in program history.
  • The blue and white leads 29-22 in the all-time series and split the series in 2021.
  • In the last matchup, the Lady Lions fell 85-76 on January 25, 2021.
  • Makenna Marisa led Penn State with 25 points. Niya Beverley contributed eight points and eight assists.

 
MARISA ADDED TO DAWN STALEY AWARD WATCH LIST

  • Junior Makenna Marisa was named to the Dawn Staley Award Watch List.
  • She was also tabbed as a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree.
  • Marisa has scored at least 10 points in all 27 games this season and has 20+ points in 17 games, 12 25-point games and five 30-point games. Her five 30-point games are the most by a Penn State player since Kelly Mazzante in 2001-02 (12) and 2002-03 (9).
  • She had 30 vs. Delaware State (11/16), 29 at Clemson (11/21), 25 vs. St. John's (11/26), a career-high 33 at Duquesne (12/18), 29 at Maryland (1/6), 25 vs. Illinois (1/16), 26 at Wisconsin (1/23), 32 vs. Iowa (1/25), 27 at Nebraska (2/3), 25 vs. Northwestern (2/6), 31 at Purdue (2/9) and 32 at Michigan State (2/21).
  • She has recorded a triple-double (30 points, 11 assists, 10 steals vs. Delaware State) and two double-doubles (25 points, 10 assists vs. Illinois).
  • Makenna Marisa ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (22.3 ppg), good for eighth in the country. In conference games, Marisa is averaging 22.7 points per game, with six games coming against ranked opponents, holding second in the Big Ten.
  • Marisa's also averaging 19.9 points per game against ranked opponents this season.
  • She sits second in the conference and fifth in the nation in total points (602). Marisa's ninth in the country in field goals made (208) and seventh in field goal attempts (484). She's 12th in the nation in free throws made (128). Marisa also holds seventh in the Big Ten in assists per game (4.2) and total assists (114).
  • Marisa is tied fifth among DI players with 17 20-point games this season, fourth with 12 25-point games and tied sixth with five 30-point games this year.
  • Marisa is one of two DI players with double-figures in all of their games this season (minimum 27 games).

 
MARISA CLIMBING POINTS LIST

  • On a fourth quarter layup against Iowa, junior guard Makenna Marisa reached the 1,000 career point mark.
  • She became the 40th Lady Lion to score 1,000 career points.
  • Marisa is the 21st Penn State player to reach 1,000 points before the end of their junior season.
  • Marisa is one of six Big Ten underclassmen with 1,000 career points.
  • She currently sits at 1,201 career points, 27th all-time at Penn State, in 81 career games.
  • Marisa also reached the 600-point mark for the season at Ohio State (2/24), becoming the sixth Lady Lion (10 occasions) to accomplish the feat.

 
SWATS AND STEALS

  • Penn State holds second the Big Ten in steals per game (9.8) and blocks per game (4.6). The Lady Lions leads the conference in total steals (264).
  • Penn State has at least 10 steals in 13 different games this year, including a season-high 25 vs. Delaware State and 16 at Purdue, PSU's most since February 10, 2013 at Michigan State (17).
  • Leilani Kapinus leads PSU with 56 steals followed by Shay Hagans' 50 and Marisa's 43.
  • The Lady Lions also have eight games with at least six blocks, including a season-best 10 at Duquesne and 9 at Michigan State.
  • Kapinus paces PSU with 31 blocks followed by Ali Brigham's 30 and Anna Camden's 27.
  • Camden had a career-best seven blocks at Michigan State (2/21), the first Lady Lion with seven blocks in a game since Talia East vs. Purdue in 2014.
  • Penn State is one of five Division I teams with three players recording 27 or more blocks this year, joining Gardner-Webb, Providence and South Carolina.
  • Brigham ranks second in the Big Ten in blocks per game (1.16), while Kapinus sits fourth (1.15).

 
HAGANS FORCING TAKEAWAYS

  • Junior guard Shay Hagans has been a force on the defensive end this season.
  • She ranks fifth in the Big Ten in steals per game (1.85) and fourth in total steals (50).
  • Hagans has recorded at least one steal in 24 games and has multiple steals in 15 games.
  • The junior notched a career-high six steals against Youngstown State. She also recorded five steals against Delaware State and four in each game against Illinois and Wisconsin.

 
KAPINUS DOING IT ALL

  • Freshman Leilani Kapinus recorded her first career double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds at Rutgers (2/13). She tied career highs with four assists and five steals.
  • Kapinus is PSU's first freshman with a double-double since Lauren Ebo (12 points, 12 rebounds vs. Nebraska, 3/2/18).
  • She also notched a double-double at Ohio State (2/24) with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
  • Kapinus has 56 steals, including a career-high five at Northwestern and Rutgers, leading Big Ten freshmen and sitting 11th among Division I freshmen.
  • The Wisconsin native has 31 blocks, which is good for second among Big Ten freshmen and 13th among all Division I freshmen.
  • Kapinus is second in total steals and total blocks in the Big Ten.
  • She's averaging 9.6 points, third among Big Ten freshmen, and 5.3 rebounds per contest, second among conference rookies, and led the team in rebounds in eight games.
  • Against ranked opponents, Kapinus is averaging 10.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game to go with 10 blocks and 10 steals.
  • She had a career-high 23 points at Rutgers and 20 points vs. Youngstown State. She scored 17 vs. Michigan, 15 at Northwestern and 15 vs. Northwestern.

 
STEPPING UP AGAINST RANKED TEAMS

  • In seven games against ranked opponents this season, Makenna Marisa is averaging 19.9 points per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the field.
  • Her 19.9 points per game are second among Big Ten players who have played at least seven games against ranked opponents.
  • She tallied 11 points against No. 13 Iowa State, 21 at No. 6 Indiana, 29 at No. 10 Maryland, 17 vs. No. 11 Michigan, 32 vs. No. 23 Iowa, 19 vs. No. 17 Maryland and 10 at No. 17 Ohio State. At Maryland, Marisa scored 24 of her 29 points in the second half, shooting 10-of-12 from the field.
  • Leilani Kapinus is averaging 10.9 points and 6.0 rebounds against ranked opponents, including 12 at Maryland, 17 vs. Michigan, 14 vs. Maryland and 10 at Ohio State. She also has 10 blocks and 10 steals.

 
UP NEXT

  • The Lady Lions travel to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament. The tournament begins on Wednesday, March 2 and finishes with the championship game on Sunday, March 6.
  • Penn State's seed, opponent, game date and time are to be determined. The bracket will be revealed on Sunday evening.