Penn State Hosts West Virginia SundayPenn State Hosts West Virginia Sunday
Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

Penn State Hosts West Virginia Sunday

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UNIVERSITY PARK ā€“ Penn State women's basketball faces West Virginia Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.

GAMEDAY INFO
Promotion

  • Sunday Funday! Kids' Zone starts at 3 p.m. with face painters, giveaways, games and more!

Parking

  • Parking for Penn State women's basketball games are available at the following locations two hours prior to the start of each game: Stadium West, Jordan East and Porter North.
  • There is no charge for patrons with a valid Penn State parking permit.
  • Pre-paid parking is available at a discounted rate of $5.50 through the ParkMobile app. Season-long packages are also available.
  • Parking will cost $10 on the day of an event without a valid permit or prepayment.
  • ParkMobile prepayment availability ends at 11:59 p.m. the night before each event. Events will not be selectable on the site after that time, and payment must then be made on site upon arrival to event parking staff (cash only).

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Mobile Ticketing and Updated App

  • All Penn State Athletics tickets are once again mobile tickets.Ā  Fans can access Penn State Athletics mobile ticket guide at GoPSUsports.com/mobiletickets.
  • Make sure to have the NEW Penn State Athletics App downloaded on your phone to easily access and manage your mobile tickets. Download the app on the App Store and Google Play.

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Bryce Jordan Center Bag Policy

  • The bag policy has been updated for the 2022-23 season.
  • Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVB and are 12" x 6" x 12" or smaller are permitted.
  • Small clutches or wristlets that are 4" x 6" x 1" are also permissible.
  • All clear bags and patrons are subject to metal detection and/or bag inspection upon entering the venue.
  • Bag policy details can be found HERE.

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OPENING TIP

  • Penn State is coming off its first home Big Ten loss of the season, pushing No. 4/3 Indiana to the brink before falling 67-58.
  • Last Saturday at Minnesota Makenna Marisa produced career-highs of 34 points (13-21 from the field), seven three-pointers and two blocks along with six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
  • Marisa has averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game with four 20-point games and two double-doubles.
  • She needs five more points to pass Jen Bednarek (1977-80, 1,428) for 17th in career points in program history.
  • Starting in every contest after the first game, freshman Shay Ciezki has averaged 9.6 points, 2.2 assists, 1.6 three-pointers and 1.3 steals per game.
  • Penn State ranks in the nation 17th in steals per game (12.6), 21st in turnovers forced per game (22.8), 38th in turnover margin (5.4), 55th in field goal percentage (44.9) and 65th in scoring offense (74.9 points per game) and assists per game (15.9).
  • Leilani Kapinus ranks fifth in the nation in steals (33) and leads the Big Ten.
  • Penn State owns wins over four reigning conference champions: Norfolk State (MEAC), Fairfield (MAAC), Youngstown State (Horizon League) and Toledo (MAC).


SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA

  • Are 7-1 to start the season with its lone loss (78-40) to then-No. 13/11 NC State Nov. 25 in the Cancun Challenge.
  • Led by first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, who previously in six years at South Dakota massed a 158-36 record, including an 83-10 mark in the Summit League, three regular-season and conference tournament championships each, four NCAA Tournament appearances and a berth in the 2022 NCAA Sweet 16.
  • Boast a strong defense, ranking in the nation third in scoring defense (48.5 points per game), eighth in turnovers forced per game (25.1), 11th in steals per game (13.0) and 25th in field goal percentage defense (34.5).
  • Fifth-year guard Madisen Smith leads the team in scoring (14.4 points per game) and three-pointers (19), and redshirt-sophomore guard Kyah Watson has the second best assist/turnover ratio (8.0, 24 assists and three turnovers) in the nation.


AGAINST THE MOUNTAINEERS

  • Penn State has had the decisive advantage in the series, 25-6, including a 12-1 record at University Park.
  • Former Atlantic 10 Conference foes, the last matchup came on March 8, 1991, a 109-66 win in the semifinals of the conference tournament in Philadelphia with the Lady Lions ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time.


ONE OF THE TOP POINT GUARDS IN THE NATION, MAKENNA MARISA

  • Senior Makenna Marisa was one of 20 point guards selected to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List heading into the season and named to the All-Big Ten Preseason Team by the coaches and media.
  • This year she leads the team in scoring (18.0 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg) in addition to 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
  • Last weekend at Minnesota she recorded one of the best games as a Lady Lion, recording a career-high 34 points (13-21 from the field, seven three-pointers, six assists, two blocks and two steals.
  • She notched a double-double in the first two contests: 24 points and 11 rebounds against Norfolk State and 14 points and 10 assists against Fairfield.
  • In the program's largest comeback against Syracuse, she produced 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, eight rebounds and seven assists.
  • She has recorded 65 double-digit scoring games and 28 20-point games with four this year.
  • A 35-game streak of consecutive double-digit games that started at the beginning of last season ended Nov. 26 against Fresno State.
  • With 1,424 career points, she is 18th in school history
  • Starting this season ranked 24th, she needs five more to pass Jen Bednarek (1977-80, 1,428) for 17th.
  • In program history she also ranks tied for fourth in 30-point games (six), fifth in career free throw percentage (82.9%), ninth in career scoring average (15.3 ppg), tied for ninth in career double-digit assist games (three), 10th in career three-point field goals made (146) and 14th in career assists (356).
  • In the nation, she ranks 21st in career free throw percentage and 53rd in career points.
  • For the 2022-23 season, she ranks in the nation 14th in made field goals (69), 22nd in points (180), 48th in assists (44) and 90th in steals (20).
  • In the Big Ten she is second in minutes (34.3 per game), eighth in scoring, ninth in assists, 11th in steals, 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and 17th in made three's per game (1.9) and field goal percentage (44.5).

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A TRIO OF 1,000 POINT SCORERS

  • Johnasia Cash notched her 1,000 career point in the over Youngstown State, becoming the third current Lady Lion to accomplish the feat: Makenna Marisa and Taniyah Thompson.
  • Cash has produced 381 combined from the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a Lady Lion for an average of 11.8 ppg.
  • She produced 659 in her seasons at SMU.
  • Thompson accomplished the feat in her three seasons at East Carolina.
  • Among active career scoring leaders in Division I, Marisa ranks 53rd (1,424), Thompson 103rd (1,271) and Cash 206th (1,040).

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CASHING REBOUNDS

  • Johnasia Cash has pulled down the ninth most career rebounds (905) among active Division I players in the nation and is also 26th in double-doubles (25).
  • In her fifth season, Cash has averaged 7.5 boards per game and 7.9 in her two seasons at Penn State (2020-21 and 2022-23).
  • In her 2020-21 season in which she earned Third-Team All-Big Ten from the media, she recorded a double-double in all 11 games in which she gathered 10+ rebounds.
  • After readjusting due to missing last season, her rebounding has picked up with a three-game streak of 10+ rebounds (Bryant-11, Syracuse-12 and Toledo-10).
  • This year she ranks 20th in rebounding (5.8 per game) in the B1G.

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SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN FOR ALL-FRESHMAN KAPINUS

  • Much like last season, Leilani Kapinus has proven she can do it all for the Lady Lions.
  • This year she leads the squad in steals (34) and blocks (six) and has put up 10.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, 30 assists, a 51.9 field goal percentage.
  • Kapinus is sixth in the nation in steals and leads the Big Ten in overall steals and steals per game (3.4) while also 16th in rebounding, 20th in assist/turnover ratio (1.0) and 21st in assists per game (3.0).
  • She has scored in double-figures in six games, pulled down at least seven rebounds in five contests and gotten at least three steals six times.
  • She racked up nine steals in the win over Fairfield along with 11 points and eight boards.
  • Against Fresno State, she produced 12 points, six steals and five assists.

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FRESHMAN IMPACT

  • Shay Ciezki has made an instant impact as a freshman.
  • After coming off the bench in the opener, Ciezki has started every game since.
  • In 280 minutes of action as the main ballhandler after Marisa, she has committed just 18 turnovers with 222 assists.
  • She was pivotal in the team's 21-point comeback against Syracuse, scoring 16 of her 18 points during the team's second half rally.
  • She followed the game with 16 points and three assists with two three-points against Toledo.
  • She notched her first double-digit scoring performance against Youngstown State with 16 points along with five rebounds and three assists.
  • She produced her first collegiate basket as part of a seven-point, four-rebound and two-steal performance against Fairfield.

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UP NEXT
Penn State heads on the road for a matchup at Drexel next Sunday at 2 p.m.