UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State women's basketball faces No. T-10/11 Maryland on the road Monday at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
OPENING TIP
- Penn State is coming off an 86-82 overtime loss Thursday at Rutgers.
- Five Lady Lions finished in double digits for the first time since Nov. 16, 2021: Makenna Marisa (24), Alexa Williamson (13), Shay Ciezki (12), Leilani Kapinus (11) and Taniyah Thompson (10).
- Leilani Kapinus was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List Tuesday and was the only Big Ten player selected to the list and one of 15 overall.
- Racking up three steals against the Scarlet Knights, Kapinus is fourth in the nation in steals per game (3.4) and first in the Big Ten while also averaging 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.9 blocks per game.
- This year Makenna Marisa leads the team in scoring (18.2 points per game), assists (4.3 per game) and made three's (45) in addition to 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
- Marisa needs 38 more points to pass Lisa Shepherd (1998-2001, 1,663 points) for 11th place in career scoring in program history.
- Starting in every contest after the first game, Shay Ciezki has averaged 11.4 points, 2.9 assists, 2.0 three-pointers and 1.4 steals per game while shooting a team-best 40.4% from three.
- Penn State ranks in the nation sixth in steals per game (12.6), 13th in turnovers forced per game (21.5), 37th in turnover margin (4.2), 47th in three-point percentage (34.9), 47th in assists per game (15.8), 48th in scoring offense (73.9 points per game) and 73rd in field goal percentage (43.6).
- Penn State owns wins over four reigning conference champions: Norfolk State (MEAC), Fairfield (MAAC), Youngstown State (Horizon League) and Toledo (MAC).
SCOUTING MARYLAND
- Are 17-4 overall and tied for third place in the Big Ten at 8-2.
- Ranked tied for No. 10 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 11 in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll.
- Possess one of the best offenses in the league, ranking in the nation 10th in turnover margin (6.7), 12th in three-point percentage (37.6), 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.3), 21st in least turnovers per game (12.9), 24th in free throw percentage (77.5), 25th in scoring offense (77.8 points per game) and 36th in assists per game (16.3).
- Senior guard Diamond Miller leads the team in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (6.3 per game), steals (43) and blocks (31).
AGAINST THE TERRAPINS
- Maryland leads the series 20-14.
- The Terrapins took last year's matchup on Jan. 30 in University Park 82-71.
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 (18.2 ppg), assists (4.3 per game) and made three's (45) in addition to 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
- She has recorded 75 double-digit scoring games and 33 20-point games with nine 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 1,626 career points, she is 12th in school history.
- Starting this season ranked 24th, she needs 38 more to pass Lisa Shepherd (1998-2001, 1,663 points) for 11th.
- In program history she also ranks tied for third in 30-point games (seven), fifth in career free throw percentage (82.2%), eighth in career three-point field goals made (172) and career scoring average (15.6 ppg), tied for ninth in career double-digit assist games (three) and 13th in career assists (401).
- In the nation, she ranks 25th in career assist average (4.5), 29th in career free throw percentage and 49th in career points.
- For the 2022-23 season, she ranks in the nation 37th in points (382), 44th in field goals made (136), 51st in minutes per game (35.2), 66th in assists (90), 76th in steals (43), 80th in three-point percentage (38.5) and 94th in three-pointers made (45).
- In the Big Ten she is first in minutes per game, third in points, tied for fourth in steals, fifth in three-point percentage, sixth in assists and three-pointers made, 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5), 14th in free throw percentage (77.4) 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 sixth in the nation in steals (71) and first in the Big Ten, which is 26 more the No. 2 steals conference leader (Sydney Wood of Northwestern).
- Averaging 3.4 steals per game, fourth nationally, she has ramped up that average to 3.8 against B1G opponents in 10 contests.
- Overall, she has racked up 13 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 19 blocks, 10th-most in the Big Ten.
- Again, her block average has increased in conference play with one per game.
- In addition to her defense, she leads the squad in rebounds (6.0 per game), tied for 16th in the league, and has put up 11.2 points and 2.7 assists per game and 45.5 field goal percentage.
- She has scored in double-figures 15 times 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 406 combined from the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a Lady Lion for an average of 9.0 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 49th (1,626), Thompson 103rd (1,390) and Cash 274th (1,065).
CASHING REBOUNDS
- Johnasia Cash has pulled down the 17th most career rebounds (940) among active Division I players in the nation and is also 36th 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 year 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 645 minutes of action as the main ballhandler after Marisa, she has committed just 49 turnovers with 60 assists.
- She is one of three Lady Lions averaging at least double-digit points (11.4), leads the team in three-point percentage (40.4), is second in made three's (42) and averages 1.4 steals per game.
- In the nation she ranks 54th in three-point percentage, and in the conference she's fourth along with being tied for seventh in made three's and 16th in assist/turnover ratio (1.2) and 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 returns home to face Northwestern Thursday at 7 p.m.