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Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

Women’s Basketball Hosts Cornell Wednesday at Noon

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UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State women's basketball faces Cornell Wednesday at noon in the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
GAMEDAY INFO
Promotions

  • Kids get in for free! For the next three games (Cornell, Rutgers, Dec. 30, and Purdue, Jan. 7), all children get in for free.

 
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).

 
Mobile Ticketing and Updated App

  • All Penn State Athletics tickets are once again mobile tickets.  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.

 
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.

 
OPENING TIP

  • Penn State is coming off an 86-82 loss in overtime at Drexel last Sunday in the final road nonconference game of the regular season.
  • Makenna Marisa led the Lady Lions with 28 points, tying a career-high with seven three pointers.
  • Marisa needs three more points to pass Katina Mack (1992-96, 1,463 points) for 16th in career scoring in program history and three more after that to advance ahead of Jess Strom (2002-05, 1,466) for 15th.
  • She leads the team in scoring (18.1 ppg), assists (4.5 apg) and three-point shooting (46.6%) in addition to 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
  • Penn State ranks in the nation 20th in steals per game (11.9), 28th in turnovers forced per game (21.3), 41st in field goal percentage (45.4), 50th in assists per game (16.2) and 61st in scoring offense (75.0 points per game).
  • Leilani Kapinus ranks sixth in the nation in steals (39) and leads the Big Ten.
  • Starting in every contest after the first game, freshman Shay Ciezki has averaged 10.5 points, 2.5 assists, 1.9 three-pointers and 1.1 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 CORNELL

  • Are 6-5 to start the season and are coming off an 87-60 loss at Duquesne.
  • The loss ended a three-game winning streak (Binghamton 71-48, at Albany 53-45 and at Hartford 89-38).
  • Rank in the nation 33rd in turnovers forced per game (21.1) and 56th in steals per game (10.3).
  • Senior guard Ania McNicholas ranks eighth in the nation in steals (38) and leads the team in scoring (11.4 points per game) and three-point shooting (14 made three's) along with 4.2 and 1.1 assists per game.

 
AGAINST THE BIG RED

  • This is the first meeting between the two programs.

 
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 (18.1 ppg), assists (4.5 apg) and three-point shooting (46.6%) in addition to 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
  • She has recorded 66 double-digit scoring games and 29 20-point games with five 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.
  • She has recorded seven 25+ points and 5+ assists games, the 10th most in the Big Ten since 2009/2010 (courtesy of Her Hoop Stats).
  • With 1,461 career points, she is 17th in school history.
  • Starting this season ranked 24th, she needs three 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%), eighth in career three-point field goals made (147), ninth in career scoring average (15.3 ppg), tied for ninth in career double-digit assist games (three) and 14th in career assists (366).
  • In the nation, she ranks 23rd in career free throw percentage and career assists and 54th in career points.
  • For the 2022-23 season, she ranks in the nation 14th in made field goals (83), 24th in points (189), 36th in three-point percentage (46.6), 40th in assists (54), 50th in three's made (27) and 62nd in minutes per game (35.1).
  • In the Big Ten she is second in minutes (35.1 per game), tied for third in scoring, four in three-point percentage, fifth in made three's, seventh in assists, tied for seventh in steals (23), 15th in field goal percentage (45.9) and 16th in assist/turnover ratio (1.4).
  • She's coming off one of the best games in her career, pouring in 28 points off of 10-16 shooting from the field, including tying a career-high seven made three's, along with five assists, three boards and a steal.
  • 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.
  • In the program's largest comeback against Syracuse, she produced 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, eight rebounds and seven assists.
  • 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.

 
A TRIO OF 1,000 POINT SCORERS

  • Johnasia Cash notched her 1,000 career point in the win over Youngstown State, becoming the third current Lady Lion to accomplish the feat (Makenna Marisa and Taniyah Thompson).
  • Cash has produced 387 combined from the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a Lady Lion for an average of 10.8 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 54th (1,461), Thompson 101st (1,289) and Cash 212th (1,046).

 
CASHING REBOUNDS

  • Johnasia Cash has pulled down the 11th most career rebounds (911) among active Division I players in the nation and is also 27th in double-doubles (25).
  • In her fifth season, Cash has averaged 7.4 boards per game in her career and 7.6 in her two seasons at Penn State (2020-21 and 2022-23).
  • In her first season as a Lady Lion 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 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 (39), blocks (11) and free throw percentage (76.7) and has put up 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, 34 assists and a 51.0 field goal percentage.
  • Kapinus is sixth in the nation in steals and leads the Big Ten in overall steals and steals per game (3.3) while 11th in free throw percentage, 13th in blocks and 18th in rebounding.
  • She has scored in double-figures in eight 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 355 minutes of action as the main ballhandler after Marisa, she has committed just 26 turnovers with 30 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 from winter break and resumes Big Ten play with Rutgers at home Friday, Dec. 30.