Women’s Basketball Hosts Rutgers FridayWomen’s Basketball Hosts Rutgers Friday
Craig Houtz

Women’s Basketball Hosts Rutgers Friday

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UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State women's basketball faces Rutgers Friday at 5 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
GAMEDAY INFO
Promotion

  • Kids get in for free! For the next two home games (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 a 79-48 victory over Cornell at home before the holiday break (Dec. 21).
  • Three Lady Lions were in double figures (Leilani Kapinus-13, Makenna Marisa-12 and Shay Ciezki-10) with two just one point away, Ali Brigham and Taniyah Thompson.
  • Marisa moved into 15th place in career scoring by a Lady Lion (1,473), passing Katina Mack (1992-96, 1,463 points) and Jess Strom (2002-05, 1,466).
  • She leads the team in scoring (17.6 ppg), assists (4.4 apg) and three-point shooting (45.9%) in addition to 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
  • Penn State ranks in the nation 11th in steals per game (12.2), 22nd in turnovers forced per game (21.9), 38th in field goal percentage (45.7), 44th in three-point percentage (35.5), 45th in assists per game (16.5) and 58th in scoring offense (75.3 points per game).
  • Leilani Kapinus ranks 10th 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, 2.6 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 RUTGERS

  • Are 6-8 to start the season and lost its two B1G matchups, 82-70 at home to then-No. 4/5 Ohio State and 80-62 at Illinois.
  • In the first year under former Lady Lions' head coach, Coquese Washington (2007-19), who guided the program to four NCAA Tournament (2011-14) and three WNIT (2010, 2017 and 2018) appearances and three-straight Big Ten Regular Season Championships (2011-14) as part of a 209-169 record in Happy Valley.
  • Have just eight players on the roster with each one playing at least 16 minutes a game.
  • Freshman guard Kaylene Smikle leads the squad in scoring (15.5 points per game) and three-point shooting (24 made), and junior forward Chyna Cornwell has racked up five double-doubles, averaging 9.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
  • Rank 21st in the nation in blocks per game (5.1), as four Scarlet Knights have at least a dozen: freshman guard/forward Antonia Bates (18), senior center Kassondra Brown (14), Smikle (12) and Cornwell (12).

 
AGAINST THE SCARLET KNIGHTS

  • Rutgers leads the series, 33-20.
  • The Scarlet Knights took the season series last year with a 60-55 victory in University Park Feb. 28 and 74-56 win March 2 in the Big Ten Tournament after the Lady Lions won 52-48 Dec. 9 in Piscataway.

 
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 (17.6 ppg), assists (4.4 apg) and three-point shooting (45.9%) in addition to 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
  • She has recorded 67 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 1,473 career points, she is 15th in school history.
  • Starting this season ranked 24th, she needs 42 more to pass Vicki Link (1984-87, 1,514 points) for 14th.
  • In program history she also ranks tied for fourth in 30-point games (six), fifth in career free throw percentage (82.2%), eighth in career three-point field goals made (155), ninth in career scoring average (15.3 ppg), tied for ninth in career double-digit assist games (three) and 14th in career assists (369).
  • In the nation, she ranks tied for 23rd in career assists, 24th in career free throw percentage and 55th in career points.
  • For the 2022-23 season, she ranks in the nation 29th in made field goals (86), 34th in three-point percentage (45.9), 36th in points (229), 50th in assists (57), 80th in three's made (28) and 84th in minutes per game (34.5).
  • In the Big Ten she is second in minutes per game, fifth in scoring and three-point percentage, eighth in assists, ninth in steals (25) and made three's, 17th in assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and 18th in field goal percentage (45.0).
  • At Drexel in the second to last game played, she notched one of the best games in her career, pouring in 28 points off 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 389 combined from the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a Lady Lion for an average of 10.5 ppg.
  • She had 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 55th (1,473), Thompson 101st (1,298) and Cash 217th (1,048).

 
CASHING REBOUNDS

  • Johnasia Cash has pulled down the 11th most career rebounds (921) 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 7.7 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 tied for 21st 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), rebounds (6.0 per game), blocks (11) and free throw percentage (76.6) and has put up 11.4 points, 35 assists and a 51.4 field goal percentage.
  • Kapinus is 10th in the nation in steals and leads the Big Ten in overall steals and steals per game (3.3) while 13th in free throw percentage, tied for 15th in blocks and 19th in rebounding.
  • She has scored in double-figures in nine 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 374 minutes of action as the main ballhandler after Marisa, she has committed just 27 turnovers with 34 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 faces No. 14/19 Michigan on the road Tuesday at 1 p.m.