Women’s Basketball Back To Host Northwestern ThursdayWomen’s Basketball Back To Host Northwestern Thursday
Craig Houtz

Women’s Basketball Back To Host Northwestern Thursday

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UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State women's basketball faces Northwestern Thursday at 7 p.m. at Bryce Jordan Center.
 
GAMEDAY INFO
Promotion

  • First 200 students get chicken tenders!

 
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 87-66 loss at then-No. 8/11 Maryland Monday.
  • Leilani Kapinus was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List last Tuesday and was the only Big Ten player selected to the list and one of 15 overall.
  • Racking up four steals against the Terrapins, Kapinus is fourth in the nation in steals per game (3.4) and first in the Big Ten while also averaging 11.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.9 blocks per game.
  • This year Makenna Marisa leads the team in scoring (18.4 points per game), assists (4.3 per game) and made three's (48) in addition to 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
  • Marisa needs 14 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 11.1 points, 2.8 assists, 1.9 three-pointers and 1.3 steals per game while shooting a team-best 40.0% from three.
  • Penn State ranks in the nation sixth in steals per game (12.5), 13th in turnovers forced per game (21.4), 42nd in turnover margin (4.1) and three-point percentage (35.0), 51st in assists per game (15.7) and in scoring offense (73.5 points per game) and 70th in field goal percentage (43.5).


SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN

  • Is 8-13 overall and secured its first Big Ten win Sunday at Wisconsin (70-67).
  • Ranked 24th in the country in blocks per game (15.4), the most in the league.
  • Sophomore forward Calleigh Walsh leads the squad in scoring (12.3 points per game), three-pointers (24), rebounding (5.1 per game) and blocks (26).
  • The only other Wildcat averaging double-digit points (11.2), graduate student guard/forward Sydney Wood is second in the Big Ten in steals (48).

 
AGAINST THE WILDCATS

  • Penn State leads the series 39-12, including a 21-4 mark at home.
  • The two programs split last season's series with each winning on the road, 63-59 in Evanston and 78-72 in University Park.

 
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 (18.4 ppg), assists (4.3 per game) and made three's (48) in addition to 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
  • She has recorded 76 double-digit scoring games and 34 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 1,649 career points, she is 12th in school history.
  • Starting this season ranked 24th, she needs 15 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 (82.4%), tied for seventh in career three-point field goals made (175), eighth in career scoring average (15.7 ppg), tied for ninth in career double-digit assist games (three) and 13th in career assists (406).
  • In the nation, she ranks 25th in career assist average (4.5), 28th in career free throw percentage and 48th in career points.
  • For the 2022-23 season, she ranks in the nation 24th in points (405), 35th in points per game, 38th in made field goals (143), 51st in minutes per game (35.2), 57th in assists (94), 77th in steals (44), 79th in three-pointers made and 82nd in three-point percentage.
  • In the Big Ten she is first in minutes per game, third in points, fourth in three-point percentage, sixth in steals, assists and three-pointers made, 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.6), 13th in free throw percentage (78.9) and 18th in field goal percentage (40.2).
  • 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 last Tuesday.
  • Kapinus is the only Big Ten player on the watchlist and one of 15 players overall.
  • She ranks fourth in the nation in steals (75) and first in the Big Ten, which is 27 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 11 contests.
  • Overall, she has racked up at least three steals in 14 games, 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, tied for ninth-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 (6.2 per game), tied for 15th in the league, and has put up 11.1 points and 2.7 assists per game and 44.9 field goal percentage.
  • She has scored in double-figures 15 times and pulled down at least seven rebounds in nine 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 410 combined from the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons as a Lady Lion for an average of 8.9 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 48th (1,649), Thompson 101st (1,407) and Cash 276th (1,069).

 
CASHING REBOUNDS

  • Johnasia Cash has pulled down the 17th most career rebounds (943) among active Division I players in the nation and is also 37th in double-doubles (25).
  • In her fifth season, Cash has averaged 7.1 boards per game in her career and 6.7 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 667 minutes of action as the main ballhandler after Marisa, she has committed just 53 turnovers with 61 assists.
  • She is one of three Lady Lions averaging at least double-digit points (11.1), leads the team in three-point percentage (40.0), is second in made three's (42) and averages 1.3 steals per game.
  • In the conference she's tied for 10th in made three's and tied for 20th 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 home to face No. 6/6 Iowa Sunday at noon in the 17th annual Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink Zone.