Lady Lions Welcome Kansas to Happy Valley for Monday Night Match UpLady Lions Welcome Kansas to Happy Valley for Monday Night Match Up
Mark Selders

Lady Lions Welcome Kansas to Happy Valley for Monday Night Match Up

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The Penn State Lady Lions cap off their three-game season opening home stand with a massive match up against the Kansas Jayhawks on Monday, Nov. 13. The game will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network with a tip time set for 6 p.m. The Big Ten Big 12 clash will be the first meeting between Kansas and Penn State since 1997 with both teams looking to take a lead in the all-time series tied 2-2 currently.
 
Penn State is in search of its third win of the season after two dominating wins against Bucknell and Navy in the first week of the 2023-24 campaign.
 
GAME INFORMATION
vs Kansas

LAST TIME OUT

  • The Lady Lions cruised to another win margin of 40 or more points with a 107-44 victory over Navy on Friday night. 
  • Six different players scored 10 or more points on opening night against Bucknell marking the first time the Lady Lions had done that since 2010. The team turned around another six-player double figure scoring outing in the next game against Navy. Shay Ciezki, Makenna Marisa and Moriah Murray all scored more than 10 points in both contests last week.
  • The 107-point night was the team's highest scoring outing since beating Delaware State 120-51 in 2021.
  • The team compilied 57 rebounds to beat the Midshipmen in that category 57-33. The Lady Lions also converted 31 points off of 26 turnovers they forced on Navy's end. The Lady Lions were dominant in the paint on offense and locked it down on defense, outscoring Navy in the paint 60-18.
  • Penn State produced 25 assists, marking its second consecutive game with 20 or more assists. 
  • Leilani Kapinus led all scoring with a career high 24 points. She was one rebound away from a double-double and also notched four assists. The redshirt-junior shot 10-12 from the field at 88%.
  • Makenna Marisa had her 28th double digit performance of her Lady Lion career while scoring her 1,800th point, something only eight others have done in program history. She sits in the ninth spot all-time in scoring at Penn State. The graduate student shot 8-for-11 from the field and contributed eight boards, two assists, steals and blocks. 
  • Moriah Murray scored all her points from behind the arc, sinking four baskets from distance.
  • Penn State has now shot greater than 55% in back-to-back games for the first time since 1996 when they shot 68% against Northwestern on March 2 and 59% against Ohio State on March third. The Lady Lions shot 59% against Bucknell in their season opener followed by a 55% shooting percentage in their next outing against Navy.

LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS 

  • Shay Ciezki ranks 11th in the Big Ten in scoring after the first week of games during week one, scoring a combined 35 points in two games. 
  • Penn State scored owns the highest point total in the Big Ten and seventh highest in the country through two games in week one, scoring 200 points through two contests. This offensive dominance gives them the best offensive margin and defensive margin in the conference heading into week two. Penn State's scoring margin 53.0 ranks them fifth in the nation.
  • The Lady Lions shooting above 50% in both games ranks them second in the conference and fourth in the country with a combined 57%. As a team, they have made the most three-point field goals with 21 made.

2023-24 ACCOLADES

  • Marisa was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for the second consecutive season. She also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten preseason team.
  • Owusu repeats on the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award Watch List. 

THE TEAM

  • The Lady Lions return Makenna Marisa for her fifth season of eligibility as well as Leilani Kapinus, Shay Ciezki, Alli Campbell, Ali Brigham and Chanaya Pinto.
  • The team welcomes six transfers. Ashley Owusu comes after three seasons at Maryland and one at Virginia Tech, Tay Valladay spent two seasons at Marquette and two at Virginia, Kylie Lavelle played as a freshman at Drexel along with Moriah Murray who transferred mid-season last year, Jayla Oden joins from Illinois and Grace Hall spent one year at LSU and one at Wabash.

SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS

  • Kansas won its first game against Northwestern State 88-46. 
  • The Jayhawks had four players score in double figures: Holly Kersgieter (17), Wyvette Mayberry (17), Taiyanna Jackson (14) and Ryan Cobbins (10). Jackson also notched a double-double adding 10 boards as well as five blocks, three steals and one assist. 
  • The team shot 47.6% from the paint and 50% from beyond the arc in their opening game. Kersgieter shot six-for-nine from the field and five-for-eight from three. Mayberry shot 5-for-11 from the paint but her four-for-six shooting from three-point range is where she excelled. 
  • Kansas had a 30-point first quarter showing and then slowed to 20 in the second quarter and 16 in the final quarter.
  • The Jawhakws finished the 2022-23 season with a 25-11 record making a successful run in the WNIT to claim the championship, defeating Columbia 66-59 to earn the title.

PENN STATE –KANSAS SERIES

  • This will be the fourth meeting between Penn State and Kansas with the series split 2-2. 
  • Kansas owns the most recent contest back on 11/26/97.
  • Three of the four meetings have been played in Happy Valley. The first two games in the series were played in Rec Hall, the previous home of the Lady Lions making this only the second game played in the Bryce Jordan Center.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

  • PARKING: Parking for all athletic events requires a valid university permit or payment of an applicable parking fee. Parking can be purchased in advance by 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each game using Prepaid ParkMobile for $5.50, or can be purchased on game day for $10. Parking for men's basketball can be found at Jordan East, Stadium West, or Porter North lots.
  • MOBILE TICKETING: 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 updated Penn State Athletics App downloaded on your phone to easily access and manage your mobile tickets. Download the app on the App Storeand Google Play.
  • CLEAR BAG POLICY: The Bryce Jordan Center has a clear bag policy. 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, as well as one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags. 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.