UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's basketball junior guard Makenna Marisa was tabbed to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I Third Team on Wednesday. Marisa became the seventh Lady Lion (10 occasions) to be named Academic All-America.
Marisa joins Vicki Link (1987, Second Team), Susan Robinson (1991, Second Team; 1992, First Team), Jen Kretchmar (1993, Third Team), Missy Masley (1995, Third Team), Andrea Garner (2000, Third Team) and Kelly Mazzante (2002, Third Team; 2003, Second Team; 2004; First Team) as Academic All-Americans. Mazzante was the 2004 CoSIDA Women's Basketball Academic All-American of the Year.
The Pennsylvania native has enjoyed a strong year on the court and in the classroom. The Education major carried a 3.75 GPA. She was an Academic All-Big Ten selection in 2020-21.
On the court, Marisa was a consensus All-Big Ten First Team selection by the coaches and media. She became Penn State's 34th first team selection and 66th All-Big Ten selection.
"We are incredibly proud of the work and dedication Makenna has put into being a student-athlete here at Penn State," said head coach Carolyn Kieger. "She is extremely driven on and off the court and has demonstrated how much her competitive spirit impacts all areas of her life. Congratulations to Makenna on another well-deserved honor."
The Dawn Staley Award Watch List member averaged 22.2 points per game this season, ranking second in the Big Ten and eighth in the country. Marisa averaged 23.0 points per game against Big Ten opponents and 19.9 points per game in seven contests against ranked opponents.
Marisa's 645 total points in 2021-22 are the sixth-most in a season at Penn State and sit second in the Big Ten and ninth in the nation.
She also ranks 18th in the country in field goals made (224) and 22nd in free throws made (138), while holding seventh in the Big Ten in assists per game (4.2).
Marisa scored at least 10 points in all 29 games this season. She had 18 games with 20+ points, 13 games with 25+ points and five 30-point games. Her five 30-point performances were the most by a Penn State player since Mazzante in 2001-02 (12) and 2002-03 (9).
The junior ranks 11th among Division I players with 18 20-point games, tied fourth with 13 25-point games and tied seventh with five 30-point games. She is one of eight Division I players to score in double-figures in all games this season (minimum 29 games).
Her top performances this season included a career-high 33 points at Duquesne (12/18), 32 points vs. Iowa (1/25) and Michigan State (2/21), 31 points at Purdue (2/9) and 30 points vs. Delaware State (11/16). She also had 29 points at Clemson (11/21) and Maryland (1/6), 28 vs. Minnesota (2/27), 27 at Nebraska (2/3), 26 at Wisconsin (1/23) and 25 vs. St. John's (11/26), Illinois (1/16) and Northwestern (2/6).
She had four 20-point halves this year, including 20 vs. Delaware State (1st), 24 at Maryland (2nd), 25 at Purdue (2nd) and 20 vs. Minnesota (2nd).
She recorded a triple-double vs. Delaware State (30 points, 11 assists and 10 steals) and a double-double vs. Illinois (25 points, 10 assists).
On a fourth-quarter layup against Iowa, Marisa became the 40th Lady Lion to reach the 1,000 career point mark and the 21st Penn State player to reach 1,000 points before the end of their junior season.
Marisa finished her junior year with 1,244 career points, ranking 24th all-time at Penn State.
