UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki led Penn State women's basketball in scoring for the third consecutive game, and the Lady Lions picked up a solid 73-66 win over the Providence Friars on Sunday afternoon inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State earned up its sixth win in its first seven games, returning to the win column after a narrow one-point loss to No. 8/10 USC in the Bahamas. The Lady Lions maintain a strong 6-1 overall record through this point in the season with a dominant 4-0 mark in Happy Valley. The Blue & White secured their seventh consecutive victory over Providence since the first meeting of the two programs in 1984. Penn State's 7-0 mark against Providence features four home victories over the Friars, with the most recent home win for PSU coming in the last meeting on Nov. 8, 2018. Following the loss, Providence drops to 3-3 overall.
The Lady Lions forced 26 Providence turnovers in the contest and scored 35 of their 73 points off Providence giveaways. Penn State was also much more effective in transition, doubling the Friars up in fastbreak points by a 22-11 margin. The game featured five lead changes and four ties, with Penn State leading for nearly 33 minutes in the game overall.
Ciezki led the way for the Blue & White, scoring 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting with a 3-for-8 mark from beyond the 3-point arc. The sophomore has led Penn State in scoring on four occasions this season, including the last three games consecutively. The Buffalo, New York, native booked four assists and four rebounds with a pair of steals in addition to her impressive scoring mark. Graduate forward Chanaya Pinto set a career high in scoring with 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting with her third made 3-pointer of the year.
Pinto and graduate guard Taylor Valladay led the Lady Lions in rebounding with five boards while Ciezki, redshirt sophomore guard Leilani Kapinus and senior+ guard Makenna Marisa each logged a pair of steals. Marisa also added 13 points in the game on 50% shooting from the field, reaching double digits for the 91st time in her career and seventh game in a row. Senior forward Ali Brigham led the Lady Lions in blocks with a pair.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Both squads exchanged early buckets down low to make it a 4-4 tie early in the opening period, but an individual 7-3 run from Marisa propelled Penn State to an 11-7 advantage through the first four minutes of competition. The Providence offense showed signs of life in the ensuing moments as the Friars worked into a bit of a rhythm, but a dominant rejection from Lavelle helped preserve the PSU edge.
Penn State forced four turnovers and scored seven points off those exchanges at the media break, leading 11-9. A pair of Brigham buckets halted a brief Lady Lion scoring drought, and a slew of jumpers from Marisa, Ciezki and Murray punctuated an 18-0 PSU stretch. Murray closed the first quarter on a personal 9-0 run with a trio of triples to give Penn State a dominant 29-9 advantage through 10 minutes of work.
Second Quarter
The second period started at a much slower tempo, with neither team connecting on any of their early opportunities. A multitude of offensive fouls and turnovers from the Friars provided Penn State with multiple chances, but a steal and score from Providence with 6:03 remaining in the frame led to a PSU timeout with a 29-11 advantage on the scoreboard.
The Friars struck again after the break for a 6-0 scoring run, but a Ciezki triple from the left wing with around three minutes to go in the period and put the lead to 17. Providence booked a brief 4-0 run, but another Ciezki 3-pointer preserved PSU's momentum as the Lady Lions took a 37-23 lead into the break.
Third Quarter
Providence opened the second half with an and-one layup and ensuing free throw, but Kapinus got herself on the board with a layup down low and five straight points from Pinto gave Penn State a 44-28 lead.
The visitors from Rhode Island battled back to a single-digit deficit with an 11-0 run, but a long-range bomb from Kapinus and a free throw from Valladay resulted in a 4-0 Lady Lion reply. Providence refused to go away, as the Friars engaged in a 7-0 run that cut the PSU lead to 49-48 at the end of the third.
Fourth Quarter
The Friars hit a pair of layups and two free throws to open the period and took a 54-49 lead in the contest, their first time ahead since starting the game 2-0. Ciezki responded with 6:15 on the clock on a smooth fadeaway and added a crucial driving layup to retake the lead at 55-54, but the Friars hit one at the charity stripe followed by a free throw line jumper to lurch back ahead.
A pair of Lady Lion free throws followed by a defensive stop sparked an 8-0 Penn State scoring run to go up by four, but Providence drilled a free throw on the other end to make it a one-score game. A PSU turnover afforded the Friars an opportunity to pull back within one on a fastbreak layup, but Providence was unable to pull ahead in their ensuing possessions. Forced to play the free throw game the rest of the way, Penn State ultimately came away with a solid 73-66 home win.
POSTGAME NOTES
Penn State vs. Providence
November 26, 2023
Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, Pa.)
- Penn State forced 26 turnovers on the Providence and converted 35 points from those turnovers.
- The Nittany Lions remain undefeated at home, 4-0, 2-0 over Big East opponents, 5-0 when leading at half and with this win, move to 7-0 against the Friars.
- Penn State held the lead for 32:49 minutes of the game.
- Ciezki, Murray and Marisa all scored nine points in the first quarter.
- Pinto shot 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
- Ciezki scored a game high 17 points, leading the Lady Lions in scoring for the fourth game this season and scored in double figures for the sixth time.
- Marisa notched double figuring scoring for the seventh game this year and 91st time in her career.
- Pinto notched a career high 14 points. She also posted three assists and a steal and a block.
- Hall secured a steal and converted that defense into offense with a layup during her time in the game. This was her first steal in the blue and white uniform.
- Tay Valladay and Chanaya Pinto led the team in boards with five each.
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