MORGANTOWN, W Va.- The Lady Lions embark on a two-game road stint, first traveling to Morgantown, W Va. to take on the Mountaineers on Monday, Dec. 4. Tip off in the WVU Coliseum is set for 6 p.m.
The Lady Lions look for their eighth win of the season and seventh consecutive victory in the series with the Mountaineers.
GAME INFORMATION
vs West Virginia
- Date: Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 | Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Morgantown, W Va. | Venue: WVU Coliseum
- Live Stats| Watch: ESPN+ | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- The Lady Lions secured their second, 20-point-plus margin of victory with a 97-47 win over Radford on Wednesday, Nov. 29 while they held their opponent under 50 points for the second time this season as well.
- Five Penn State players scored in double figures for the third time this season: Marisa (24), Ciezki (15), Kapinus (15), Valladay (11) and Murray (11). Three of those Lady Lions reached the two digit mark by the first half.
- Penn State outscored Radford 32-6 in the first quarter.
- PSU earned its second, 50-plus-point win of the season and the victory marked the second game the Lady Lions have held their opponent to under 50 points.
- Penn State is holding its opponents to under 40% shooting from the field.
- The Lady Lions collected a season high 26 assists and 37 bench points.
- Makenna Marisa led all scoring with 24 points, marking her 92nd double digit performance and eighth consecutive game reaching double figures this season. She also tied the team high five assists. The senior+ shot 66.7% from the field and 57.1% from three-point distance.
- Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki continued her streak of 10-plus-point games with 15 points on the evening. Ciezki has reached double figures for the seven of eight outing this season.
- Grace Hall blocked four shots, her career high and a team high on the night.
- Penn State blocked the most shots with 10 in a single game since blocking 10 against Youngstown State on Dec. 13, 2021.
- The Lady Lions were relentless on defense, forcing 29 turnovers and converted 37 points off that defense.
LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- Makenna Marisa sits seventh in the conference in scoring average (17.0) and third in total points scored (136) behind Caitlin Clark and Kaylene Smikle.
- Shay Ciezki ranks 12th in the Big Ten, averaging 15.5 points per game. Her total of 109 points through seven games sits at a rank of seventh. Ciezki is third in the Big Ten in made three-pointers with 23.
- The Lady Lions rank second in the conference in points scored with 690 through eight games which sits them 12th nationally.
- Penn State's three-point percentage of 40.6% ranks it second in the Big Ten and at ninth in the nation. The team's 73 three pointers made is third in the league and 17th in the national rankings.
- The Lady Lions also rank second in the league in steals (84) with the highest average of 10.5, second in blocks (44) and third in the league in assists (151).
2023-24 ACCOLADES
- Shay Ciezki collected her first conference accolade of the season after totaling 62 points through three games including a personal best 27-point performance against Oklahoma State in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship. The Buffalo native made the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll on Nov. 27.
- Marisa earned a spot on the three-person Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll (11/20) after her to double digit scoring outings against Kansas (34 points) and St. John's (15 points).
- 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.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- The Mountaineers are one of 22 schools that are still undefeated so far this season with their 7-0 record.
- Their most recent game just two days prior to the meeting with the Lady Lions showed WVU's dominance in scoring with a 40-point margin of victory in a 90-50 win.
- Ja'Naiya Quinerly leads West Virginia in scoring with 119 points this season for a 17 ppg average.
- Three starters are averaging double figures.
- The Mountaineers are holding opponents to 36.5% field goal shooting and 20.5% three-point shooting.
PENN STATE –WEST VIRGINIA SERIES
- The Lady Lions lead the all-time series with the Mountaineers 26-6.
- The meetings between the two teams date back to 1976.
- Penn State won the most recent contest on December 11th, 2022 by a score of 69-57.