UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State women's basketball faces Drexel on the road Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on FloHoops (subscription required) and NBC Sports Philadelphia.
OPENING TIP
- Penn State is coming off a 69-57 win over West Virginia last Sunday at home, snapping a three-game losing streak.
- Makenna Marisa moved to 17th in program history in career points (1,433), moving ahead of Jen Bednarek (1977-80, 1,428).
- Marisa leads the team in scoring (17.2 ppg) and assists (4.5 apg) in addition to 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
- Penn State ranks in the nation 15th in steals per game (12.4), 21st in turnovers forced per game (22.2), 38th in turnover margin (5.0), 50th in field goal percentage (45.2), 62nd in assists per game (15.9) and 65th in scoring offense (74.4 points per game).
- Leilani Kapinus ranks sixth in the nation in steals (37) and leads the Big Ten.
- Starting in every contest after the first game, freshman Shay Ciezki has averaged 10.0 points, 2.5 assists, 1.8 three-pointers and 1.2 steals per game.
- Penn State owns wins over four reigning conference champions: Norfolk State (MEAC), Fairfield (MAAC), Youngstown State (Horizon League) and Toledo (MAC).
SCOUTING DREXEL
- Are 6-3 to start the season and are coming off a 64-49 win at Dartmouth that broke a two-game losing streak (60-58 at Yale, Dec. 11, and 69-49 at Saint Joseph's, Dec. 4).
- Undefeated at home, 3-0, with wins against Rider (84-58), Maryland Eastern-Shore (66-61) and Lehigh (84-61).
- Rank in the nation third in turnovers per game (11.0) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.49).
- Graduate student guard Keishana Washington leads the nation in scoring (28.1 points per game) with five 30+ point games, 56 made free throws in nine games and 41 assists to 18 turnovers.
- Fifth-year guard Maura Hendrixson averages 6.4 assists per game, ranking 11th in the nation.
AGAINST THE DRAGONS
- Penn State has won four of the six contests against Drexel.
- The first meeting coming on Nov. 25, 2007, a 66-60 Lady Lions' win, Penn State took the last matchup 84-70 at home on Nov. 12, 2017.
COMING HOME
- Several Lady Lions will be returning home in the visit to Philadelphia.
- Anna Camden, a Downingtown, Pa. native, went to The Shipley School, less than 10 miles away from Daskalakis Athletic Center.
- Assistant coach Maggie Lucas grew up in Narbeth, Pa., even closer to Drexel's gym.
- Assistant coach Sharnee Zoll-Norman was born in Philadelphia and graduated from nearby Highland Regional High School in New Jersey.
- Alexa Williamson played the last four years at nearby Temple.
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 (17.2 ppg) and assists (4.5 apg) in addition to 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
- In the Big Ten-opener 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 1,433 career points, she is 17th in school history
- Starting this season ranked 24th, she needs 31 more to pass Katina Mack (1992-96, 1,463 points) for 16th and three more after that to advance ahead of Jess Strom (2002-05, 1,466) for 15th.
- In program history she also ranks tied for fourth in 30-point games (six), fifth in career free throw percentage (82.4%), ninth in career scoring average (15.2 ppg), tied for ninth in career double-digit assist games (three) and career three-point field goals made (147) and 14th in career assists (361).
- In the nation, she ranks 23rd in career free throw percentage, tied for 23rd in career assists and 60th in career points.
- For the 2022-23 season, she ranks in the nation 25th in made field goals (73), 39th in points (189) and 45th in assists (49).
- In the Big Ten she is second in minutes (34.2 per game), tied for seventh in steals (22), eighth in assists, 11th in scoring, 14th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and 18th in field goal percentage (44.2) and made three's per game (1.8).
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 385 combined from the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a Lady Lion for an average of 11.0 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 60th (1,433), Thompson 99th (1,284) and Cash 206th (1,044).
CASHING REBOUNDS
- Johnasia Cash has pulled down the 11th most career rebounds (906) 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 7.8 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 22nd in rebounding (5.7 per game) in the B1G.
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 (37), blocks (10) and free throw percentage (75.7) and has put up 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, 30 assists and a 51.7 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 tied for 11th in blocks, 14th in free throw percentage and 17th in rebounding.
- She has scored in double-figures in seven games, pulled down at least seven rebounds in six contests and gotten at least three steals seven times.
- She racked up nine steals in the win over Fairfield along with 11 points and eight boards.
- In the win over Youngstown State, she nearly produced a double-double with 21 points and nine boards along with five assists and four steals.
- Against Fresno State, she produced 12 points, six steals and five assists.
- She notched 18 points on 8-10 shooting from the field and had five steals and four assists.
- Making all five free throws, she got 15 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals in the win over West Virginia.
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 315 minutes of action as the main ballhandler after Marisa, she has committed just 21 turnovers with 28 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.
- She notched a career-high six assists along with 14 points and four three-pointers in the win over West Virginia.
UP NEXT
Penn State returns home for a Wednesday matchup against Cornell at noon.