Women’s Basketball Host Northwestern For Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink ZoneWomen’s Basketball Host Northwestern For Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink Zone
Mark Selders

Women’s Basketball Host Northwestern For Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink Zone


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team welcomes Northwestern on Sunday for a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions are hosting their 16th annual Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink Zone.

Doors open for fans at noon.

The Lady Lions, led by head coach Carolyn Kieger, are 9-12 overall and 3-8 in Big Ten action.

The Pink Zone Pregame Show, hosted by Justin Antweil and Joe Putnam, will be streamed on Facebook (Penn State Women's Basketball) and Twitter (@pennstatewbb) beginning at noon.

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. 

PLAY4KAY GAME BENEFITING PINK ZONE

  • Pink Zone and Penn State Women's Basketball are a unified force in the fight against breast cancer on the court, across campus and within communities. Pink Zone promotes cancer awareness and empowers survivors through year-long efforts to raise funds critical in supporting vital breast cancer organizations, charities and facilities that focus on breast cancer education, research, diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
  • The Lady Lions own a 7-8 record in the Play4Kay game benefiting Pink Zone, including a five-game winning streak from 2010-14.
  • Penn State was the first team in the NCAA to don pink uniforms, debuting the threads on Feb. 4, 2007 against Wisconsin at the Bryce Jordan Center.
  • The Lady Lion program has been honored as the Play4Kay Division I initiative winner twice in program history, winning the award in 2013 and 2014.
  • Pink Zone at Penn State has raised more than $3.2 million in funds over its 15 years, including a record $310,000 in 2014.
  • The event began in 2007 with $20,490 raised and 31 cancer survivors in attendance and has grown into an event that has raised over $200,000 in seven of the last eight years and welcomed upwards of 400 cancer survivors annually.
  • Pink Zone's six beneficiaries include: Mount Nittany Health Foundation, Penn State Cancer Institute, Kay Yow Foundation, PA Breast Cancer Coalition, JC Blair Memorial Hospital and Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital.

 
OPENING TIP

  • Penn State welcomes Northwestern on Sunday for a Big Ten contest.
  • The Lady Lions earned a 63-59 win at Northwestern on January 20.
  • In that game, Makenna Marisa led PSU with 20 points, making 10-of-10 free throws, and Leilani Kapinus added 15 points.
  • Penn State is hosting its 16th annual Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink Zone.
  • The Lady Lions will wear pink uniforms, a tradition beginning in 2007 against Wisconsin.
  • Penn State is 7-8 all-time in the Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink Zone, including a five-game win streak from 2010-14.
  • The Lady Lions look to bounce back after a 76-61 setback at Nebraska on Thursday.
  • Makenna Marisa tallied 27 points, her 13th game with 20+ points this season and ninth with 25+.
  • Leilani Kapinus added 10 points, her ninth-straight game reaching double-figures. She's the first PSU freshman to have nine-straight 10+ point games since Maggie Lucas in 2010-11.
  • Among Big Ten freshmen, Kapinus ranks fourth in scoring (9.0), second in rebounds per game (4.9), first in total steals (37) and second in total blocks (26).
  • Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten in steals per game (9.8) and third in blocks per game (4.6).

 
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN

  • Northwestern is led by head coach Joe McKeown.
  • McKeown is in his 14th season leading the Wildcats and holds a 97-133 record at Northwestern.
  • He has led Northwestern to two NCAA Tournament appearances and was Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2019-20.
  • McKeown has a career record of 745-368, owning the 10th most wins among active DI coaches.
  • Northwestern is averaging 66.6 points per game, ranking 11th in the Big Ten, and allowing 62.6 points per contest, sitting fifth in the conference.
  • Veronica Burton leads the Wildcats with 17.4 ppg, holding 10th in the Big Ten.
  • Burton is also second in the conference in assists per game (6.0), good for 12th in the nation, and sixth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.77).
  • Burton leads the Big Ten in steals with 4.05 per game, ranking third in the country, and sits fifth in the nation with 113 free throws made.

 
AGAINST THE WILDCATS

  • Penn State will meet Northwestern for the 51st time in the series
  • The Lady Lions lead 39-11 in the all-time series.
  • Earlier this season, on January 20, 2022, Penn State earned a 63-59 win at Northwestern.
  • Makenna Marisa led PSU with 20 points, while Leilani Kapinus scored 15. Penn State made 14-of-14 free throws.

 
MARISA ECLIPSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS

  • 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 1,066 career points, 35th all-time at Penn State, in 75 career games.

 
MARISA'S STRONG JUNIOR CAMPAIGN

  • Junior Makenna Marisa scored at least 11 points in all 21 games this season and has 20+ points in 13 games, nine 25-point games and three 30-point games.
  • She had 20 points vs. Rider (11/11), 30 vs. Delaware State (11/16), 29 at Clemson (11/21), 25 vs. St. John's (11/26), 23 vs. Kent State (11/28), 21 at Indiana (12/6), a career-high 33 at Duquesne (12/18), 29 at Maryland (1/6), 25 vs. Illinois (1/16), 20 at Northwestern (1/20), 26 at Wisconsin (1/23), 32 vs. Iowa (1/25) and 27 at Nebraska (2/3).
  • Marisa recorded her 1,000th career point on a fourth-quarter layup against Iowa.
  • 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 (22.2 ppg), good for seventh in the country. Her 22.2 points per game rank third among Power Five conference players.
  • In conference games, Marisa is averaging 22.8 points per game with five games coming against ranked opponents. Her 22.8 points per game against conference opponents are second in the Big Ten.
  • Marisa's also averaging 21.5 points per game against ranked opponents this season.
  • She sits second in the conference and fourth in the nation in total points (467). Marisa's sixth in the country in field goals made (167) and 11th in field goal attempts (370).
  • Marisa also holds ninth in the Big Ten in assists per game (4.1) and ninth in total assists (87). She's also ninth in the conference averaging 2.33 three-pointers per game.
  • Marisa is tied fifth among DI players with 13 20-point games this season, tied second with nine 25-point games and tied 10th with three 30-point games this year.
  • Marisa is one of five DI players with double-figures in all of their games this season (minimum 21 games).

 
SWATS AND STEALS

  • Penn State sits second in the Big Ten in steals per game (9.6) and third in blocks per game (4.6).
  • The Lady Lions hold fourth in the conference in total steals (201).
  • Penn State has at least 10 steals in eight different games this year, including a season-high 25 vs. Delaware State.
  • Shay Hagans leads PSU with 40 steals followed by Leilani Kapinus' 37 and Marisa's 34.
  • The Lady Lions also have six games with at least six blocks, including a season-best 10 at Duquesne.
  • Kapinus paces PSU with 26 blocks followed by Ali Brigham's 25 and Anna Camden's 15.
  • Brigham ranks fourth in the Big Ten in blocks per game (1.25), while Kapinus sits fifth (1.24).

 
HAGANS FORCING TAKEAWAYS

  • Junior guard Shay Hagans has been a force on the defensive end this season.
  • She ranks fourth in the Big Ten in steals per game (1.90) and third in total steals (40).
  • Hagans has recorded at least one steal in 18 games and has multiple steals in 11 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 has scored in double-figures in nine-straight games, the first PSU freshman to do that since Maggie Lucas (11 games) in 2010-11.
  • Kapinus has 37 steals, including a career-high five at Northwestern, leading Big Ten freshmen and sitting 17th among Division I freshmen.
  • The Wisconsin native has 26 blocks, which is good for second among Big Ten freshmen and 10th among all Division I freshmen.
  • Kapinus is third in total blocks in the Big Ten.
  • She's averaging 9.0 points, fourth among Big Ten freshmen, and 4.9 rebounds per contest, second among conference rookies, and led the team in rebounds in six games.
  • Against ranked opponents, Kapinus is averaging 11.0 points per game to go with nine blocks and eight steals.
  • She had a career-high 20 points vs. Youngstown State. She scored 10 points in the fourth quarter vs. St. John's, 12 points at Maryland, 17 vs. Michigan, 14 vs. Illinois, 15 at Northwestern, 10 at Wisconsin, 10 vs. Iowa, 10 vs. Michigan State, 14 vs. Maryland and 10 at Nebraska.

 
STEPPING UP AGAINST RANKED TEAMS

  • In six games against ranked opponents this season, Makenna Marisa is averaging 21.5 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field.
  • Her 21.5 points per game are second among Big Ten players who have played at least five 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 and 19 vs. No. 17 Maryland. At Maryland, Marisa scored 24 of her 29 points in the second half, shooting 10-of-12 from the field.
  • Leilani Kapinus is averaging 11.0 points against ranked opponents, including 12 at Maryland, 17 vs. Michigan and 14 vs. Maryland. She also has nine blocks and eight steals.

 
UP NEXT

  • Penn State travels to Purdue on Wednesday, February 9 for a 7 p.m. Big Ten matchup.