UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State women's basketball faces Rutgers on the road Thursday at 7 p.m.
OPENING TIP
- Penn State is coming off a 74-69 home win over Wisconsin Sunday.
- Taniyah Thompson poured in a season-high 27 points, draining a season-high five three-pointers and finishing 10-13 from the field along with two steals.
- Leilani Kapinus was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, and is the only Big Ten player selected to the list and one of 15 overall.
- Racking up five steals against the Badgers, Leilani Kapinus is fourth in the nation in steals (68) and first in the Big Ten while also averaging 11.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.9 blocks per game.
- This year Makenna Marisa leads the team in scoring (17.9 ppg), assists (4.3 per game) and made three's (41) in addition to 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game.
- Starting in every contest after the first game, Shay Ciezki has averaged 11.4 points, 3.0 assists, 2.1 three-pointers and 1.4 steals per game while shooting a team-best 40.8% from three.
- Penn State ranks in the nation sixth in steals per game (12.8), 10th in turnovers forced per game (21.8), 39th in turnover margin (4.2), 48th in three-point percentage (35.0), 51st in assists per game (15.7), 55th in scoring offense (73.5 points per game) and 69th in field goal percentage (43.7).
- Penn State owns wins over four reigning conference champions: Norfolk State (MEAC), Fairfield (MAAC), Youngstown State (Horizon League) and Toledo (MAC).
SCOUTING RUTGERS
- Are 8-13 this season and 2-7 in the Big Ten with a home win over then-RV Nebraska (57-45) and at Minnesota (65-59).
- 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 18 minutes a game.
- Freshman guard Kaylene Smikle leads the squad in scoring (17.3 points per game) and three-point shooting (38 made), and junior forward Chyna Cornwell has racked up six double-doubles, averaging 9.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
- Rank 29th in the nation in blocks per game (4.7), as five Scarlet Knights have at least a baker's dozen: freshman guard/forward Antonia Bates (25), senior center Kassondra Brown (19), Smikle (17), Cornwell (62) and senior guard Awa Sidibe (13).
AGAINST THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
- Rutgers leads the series, 33-21.
- The Lady Lions look for the regular season sweep after defeating the Scarlet Knights 90-72 at home on Dec. 30.
WIN NO. 1 AGAINST THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
- Penn State never trailed in its 90-72 win over Rutgers at Bryce Jordan Center on Dec. 30.
- The Lady Lions erupted for 33 points with six three-pointers in the first quarter with a 16-2 run in the opening minutes.
- Penn State never let its lead dip below 16 points the rest of the game.
- The Lady Lions finished +21 in turnovers (31 forced) with 17 steals.
- Makenna Marisa produced a game-high 32 points and tied assistant coach Maggie Lucas for the third-most career 30-point games (seven) in program history with her second of the season (34 at Minnesota).
- Leilani Kapinus notched 14 points along with six steals, five assists and four boards.
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 (17.9 ppg), assists (4.3 per game) and made three's (41) in addition to 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game.
- She has recorded 74 double-digit scoring games and 32 20-point games with eight 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 notched seven career 25+ points and 5+ assists games, the 10th most in the Big Ten since 2009-2010 (courtesy of Her Hoop Stats).
- With 1,602 career points, she is 13th in school history.
- Starting this season ranked 24th, she needs 18 more to pass Andrea Garner (1997-2000, 1,619 points) for 12th.
- In program history she also ranks tied for third in 30-point games (seven), fifth in career free throw percentage (82.0%), eighth in career three-point field goals made (168) and career scoring average (15.6 ppg), tied for ninth in career double-digit assist games (three) and 13th in career assists (397).
- In the nation, she ranks 20th in career assists, 28th in career free throw percentage and 50th in career points.
- For the 2022-23 season, she ranks in the nation 35th in points (358), 41st in field goals (128), 50th in minutes per game (35.1), 51st in steals (43), 61st in assists (85) and 78th in three-point percentage (38.3).
- In the Big Ten she is first in minutes per game, tied for third in steals, sixth in points, tied for seventh in assists, tied for seventh in three-pointers made, eighth in three-point percentage, 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.4), 14th in free throw percentage (76.3) and 18th in field goal percentage (40.5).
- In the win over Rutgers, she produced a game-high 32 points with four made three-pointers and six free throws in addition to five rebounds.
- In the home win over Purdue, she produced 24 points, eight boards and six dimes and went 3-6 from three.
- 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.
NAISMITH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCHLIST
- Leilani Kapinus has been named to the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year 2023 Watch List, the organization announced Tuesday.
- Kapinus is the only Big Ten player selected to the watchlist and one of 15 players overall.
- She ranks fourth in the nation in steals (68) and first in the Big Ten, which is 23 more the No. 2 steals conference leader (Sydney Wood of Northwestern).
- Averaging 3.4 steals per game, sixth nationally, she has ramped up that average to 3.9 against B1G opponents in nine contests.
- Overall, she has racked up 12 games with at least three steals, including seven contests with 5+: nine against Cornell, seven in the win over Purdue, six versus Fresno State, Rutgers and Minnesota (at home) and five against Minnesota (in Minneapolis) and Wisconsin.
- In addition to her steals, the guard has recorded a team-high 18 blocks, 10th-most in the Big Ten. Again, her block average has increased in conference play with nine so far.
- In addition to her defense, she leads the squad in rebounds (6.0 per game) and has put up 11.3 points and 2.6 assists per game, a 46.1 field goal percentage and 69.7 free throw percentage.
- Kapinus is 17th in rebounding and 20th in free throw percentage.
- She has scored in double-figures 14 games and pulled down at least seven rebounds in eight contests.
- Against Minnesota, she put up 10 boards, eight points and six steals.
- She produced her first double-double of the season in the win over Purdue with 17 points and 12 rebounds along with a game-high seven steals and four assists.
- 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.
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 400 combined from the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a Lady Lion for an average of 9.1 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 50th (1,602), Thompson 103rd (1,380) and Cash 269th (1,059).
CASHING REBOUNDS
- Johnasia Cash has pulled down the 15th most career rebounds (935) among active Division I players in the nation and is also 34th in double-doubles (25).
- In her fifth season, Cash has averaged 7.1 boards per game in her career and 6.8 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).
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 611 minutes of action as the main ballhandler after Marisa, she has committed just 46 turnovers with 59 assists.
- She is one of three Lady Lions averaging at least double-digit points (11.4), leads the team in three-point percentage (40.5), is second in made three's (40) and averages 1.5 steals per game.
- In the nation she ranks 48th in three-point percentage, and in the conference she's fourth along with being ninth in three's made per game (2.0), 16th in assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and 18th in assists.
- At then-No. 12/9 Iowa, she led the team in points (20), rebounds (seven) and assists (three).
- At then-No. 14/19 Michigan, she notched career highs in points (21), field goals (eight) and three-pointers (five) along with four assists.
- She became just the second Lady Lions' freshman since the 2009-10 season with 20+ points, 5+ three's and 4+ assists in a Big Ten game (Maddie Burke: 20 points, six three's and four assists at Iowa, Feb. 19, 2021).
- 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 stays on the road to face T-No.10/No. 11 Maryland Monday at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.