INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Penn State women's basketball team fell 75-50 against Rutgers in the First Round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Lady Lions finished the 2021-22 season with an 11-18 record.
Leilani Kapinus recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. She added three steals and a block, while going 9-of-11 at the free throw line. Makenna Marisa tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. The Lady Lions shot 24 percent from the floor (14-of-59) and 4-of-23 (17 percent) from three.
Osh Brown paced Rutgers with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Shug Dickson collected 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, while Tyia Singleton contributed 10 points. Rutgers shot 43 percent from the floor (30-of-69) and 31 percent from three (4-of-13).
The Lady Lions experienced a cold-shooting first quarter, going 4-of-16 from the floor. A jumper by Marisa and a layup by Niya Beverley gave Penn State an early 4-0 advantage. Rutgers' Singleton went on a personal 5-0 run, but a jumper in the lane by Marisa allowed PSU to re-take the lead, 6-5, at the 4:26 mark. The Scarlet Knights then went on a 10-0 run, ignited by Dickson's jumper. Singleton had three points during the run, while Jailyn Mason hit a three-pointer. Rutgers led 15-6 with 2:42 left in the quarter. A three by Tova Sabel with 46 seconds left in the quarter closed it out with Penn State trailing 17-11.
Penn State opened the second quarter on an 10-3 run. A jumper by Ali Brigham and a layup by Marisa started the run, which included threes by Beverley and Kapinus. Penn State led 21-20 with 3:35 to go in the quarter. However, Rutgers responded with an 11-2 run, covering the next three minutes. Dickson tallied six of the 11 points. Kapinus drove coast-to-coast for a layup in the closing seconds of the quarter. Penn State trailed 31-25 at the break.
A cold-shooting third quarter allowed Rutgers to start the period on a 16-3 run. Brown and Dickson each had six points during the run. Penn State chipped away with three points by Marisa and a pair of free throws by Anna Camden. Rutgers led 47-33 with 2:15 left in the quarter. The Scarlet Knights scored the next five points, with three by Brown and two by Sayawni Lassiter. A three by Shay Hagans cut the deficit to 52-36 with 41 seconds left, but Lassiter answered with a jumper to give RU a 54-36 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Rutgers began the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run, featuring five points by Brown to hold a 65-38 lead at the 5:02 mark and closed out the victory. Kapinus had seven points in the quarter, while Marisa added four.
Leilani Kapinus