MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Three Lady Lions reached double figures in the scoring column, but No. 25 Penn State women's basketball dropped an 83-65 decision on the road to the West Virginia Mountaineers Monday night inside WVU Coliseum.
The defeat dropped PSU to 7-2 overall on the 2023-24 campaign heading into the start of Big Ten Conference competition this weekend against Ohio State on the road in Columbus. The Lady Lions move to 26-7 all-time against West Virginia in a series which dates to the 1976 season. WVU climbs to 8-0 overall on the season, embodying one of 20 teams still undefeated into December.
PSU maintained its impressive start on the offensive end with field goal efficiency, connecting on 47% of their total shot attempts by going 26-of-55 overall. Penn State's bench maintained its productive stretch of performances, with Lady Lion non-starters outpacing West Virginia by a 29-17 margin in the category. Nearly 45% of all Penn State scoring Monday night came from reserve players.
Graduate guard Tay Valladay led the bench scoring charge and paced all Penn State performers with 18 points, a new season best, going 7-for-11 from the floor while draining three of her four 3-point attempts. The Chicago native booked her fourth double-digit scoring game as a Lady Lion and 29th game in double figures since the start of her collegiate career. Graduate forward Chanaya Pinto was an all-around threat for the Lady Lions on Monday, joining Valladay in double figures with 10 points while hauling in five rebounds and dishing out a season high-tying four assists.
Senior forward Ali Brigham rounded out the trio of Lady Lions in double digits, scoring 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting with four rebounds and a block. Redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus led the Blue & White in rebounding with six boards and contributed eight points on 100% shooting from the floor in addition to a pair of 3-point bombs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Lady Lions opened the game with a solid offensive possession that featured an offensive board and a driving layup from Pinto to book the first score of the game. West Virginia responded with a fast break opportunity on the other end, but a quick 4-0 Penn State reply kept the Blue & White in control.
Each team exchanged 3-point baskets over the next couple of minutes to make it a 9-5 PSU lead at the media timeout. WVU came out of the break and registered an 8-0 scoring run to pull ahead in the back-and-forth first period. Marisa hit a free throw to break up the Mountaineer momentum and spark a 6-0 Lady Lion run to retake the lead. Both teams traded triples to close out the frame, giving Penn State an 18-16 edge through one.
Second Quarter
Turnovers for both team started the second period, with West Virginia managing to take a narrow three-point lead in the process. Solid play down low between Pinto and Marisa resulted in an uncontested layup for the latter, but a 3-pointer from the Mountaineers allowed the home squad to maintain their lead heading into the media break. Penn State remained composed after the short break and took advantage of multiple Mountaineer miscues to tie things back up, but WVU engaged in a 12-2 run over the final three minutes to take a 10-point lead into the intermission.
Third Quarter
Valladay drilled a triple to start the third quarter of action, but the Mountaineers rattled off four straight points to preserve their double-digit edge. WVU maintained solid play on both sides of the floor, but a 6-1 Lady Lion stretch featuring three jumpers from three different players brought Penn State back within nine.
A generous helping of free throw opportunities allowed West Virginia to balloon their advantage up to 14 points, leading 54-40 at the third quarter media timeout. A much-needed 3-point basket from Kapinus quieted West Virginia's momentum and allowed Penn State to find some rhythm in the waning moments of the period, but the Mountaineers managed to hold on for an 11-point lead heading into the last 10 minutes.
Fourth Quarter
The Blue & White opened the final period with back-to-back layups from Oden and Valladay and pull back within a seven-point margin, but West Virginia tallied a pair of layups of their own to match the Lady Lion start.
Pinto hit a fast break layup to make it a single-digit WVU lead, but a 5-0 Mountaineer reply made it 74-60 in the home team's favor with six-and-a-half minutes to go.
PSU attempted to mount a comeback late, but the advantage was too much as WVU came away with the 83-65 result.
POSTGAME NOTES
#25 Penn State at RV West Virginia
December 4, 2023
WVU Coliseum (Morgantown, W.Va.)
- Penn State earned a spot in the AP Top-25 rankings for the first time since the final rankings of the 2013-14 season.
- Tay Valladay shot 7-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point distance to total 18 points, a season high for the graduate student. She also picked up two assists, two steals and a block. She earned her fourth double figure performance of the year.
- Ali Brigham posted 10 points, her fifth time reaching double figures this season.
- Leilani Kapinus led the team in rebounds for the sixth time this year with six while also adding eight points.
- Chanaya Pinto reached the 10-digit mark with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
- The Lady Lions scored 29 points off the bench to total 255 on the season.
UP NEXT
The Lady Lions continue their road stint at no. 12 Ohio State on Sunday, Dec. 10. Tip off in Columbus is set for 1 p.m.
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