UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team, led by head coach Carolyn Kieger, has signed forward Chanaya Pinto and guard Taniyah Thompson ahead of the 2022-23 season. Pinto joins the Lady Lions after transferring from Oregon, while Thompson comes to Penn State from East Carolina.
Pinto and Thompson are the third and fourth transfers to join Penn State for the upcoming season, joining guard Ivane Tensaie and forward Alexa Williamson.
Chanaya Pinto
F | 6-1 | Senior | Maputo, Mozambique | Escola Secundaria de Carcavelos/Northwest Florida State College/Oregon
Pinto joins the Lady Lions after playing her junior season at Oregon. She played in 30 games for the Ducks.
The Mozambique native tallied 86 points, 73 rebounds, 19 assists and 18 steals, while averaging 11.4 minutes per game. She shot nearly 47 percent from the floor.
Pinto had three games scoring in double digits, including 12 points against South Carolina. She also notched 10 points vs. Oklahoma and 10 vs. Dixie State.
Prior to Oregon, Pinto played at Northwest Florida State College, where she was named NJCAA National Player of the Year and a two-time NJCAA All-American. She led Northwest Florida State College to its first ever NJCAA Women's Basketball National Championship as a sophomore and earned second-team All-America honors.
She averaged 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds as a sophomore, both team highs, while posting 19 double-figure scoring games and 10 double-doubles. As a freshman, she averaged 13.9 points and 8.3 rebounds while posting 25 double-digit scoring performances and eight double-doubles.
Coach Kieger on Pinto: "I am beyond excited to welcome Chanaya to our Penn State family. Her high-level playing experience will immediately add to our depth. She brings versatility and length and has a passion for playing defense. Her ability to stretch the floor and the pace at which she plays make her a perfect fit into our system. Her best basketball is ahead of her and we can't wait until she arrives in Happy Valley!"
Taniyah Thompson
G | 5-11 | Senior | Hamden, Conn. | Hamden/East Carolina
Thompson comes to Penn State after three seasons at East Carolina. She notched 1,189 points, 230 rebounds, 81 assists and 120 steals as a Pirate.
In 2021-22, Thompson was named the AAC's Most Improved Player and earned First Team All-AAC honors. She earned two AAC Player of the Week awards.
As a junior, Thompson averaged 18.5 points per game, ranking second in the AAC, and 4.3 rebounds per game while collecting 36 assists and 43 steals. She led the conference in field goals made (199) and ranked eighth in free-throw percentage (78.4).
She had 27 games scoring in double-figures, including 12 games with 20+ points and a career-high 31 points against UNC Wilmington. Thompson had five games where she hit four or more three-pointers.
Thompson averaged 19.3 points per game against AAC opponents, including 29 points vs. Temple, Wichita State and South Florida, 28 points vs. Houston and 26 points vs. Memphis.
In 2020-21, Thompson averaged 11.2 points per game with 15 double-figure scoring games, including a season-high 27 against Tulane.
As a freshman in 2019-20, the Connecticut native averaged 13.7 points per game, including 20 games scoring in double-figures. She had a season-high 29 points vs. Dayton. She was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team.
She played four years at Hamden High School, leaving as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,877 points. She was a three-time All-Conference selection and led Hamden to its first ever conference title.
Kieger on Thompson: "I am thrilled for Taniyah to be joining our Penn State family. Her ability to score at all three levels will be a huge asset for our program. She is extremely competitive and has a strong desire to play at a high level and help elevate our program. She has an elite mid-range game and she loves to play in the open floor. There is no doubt she is a perfect fit and we are eager for her to get to State College."
