COLUMBUS, Ohio.- No. 25 Penn State women's basketball takes on its first Big Ten opponent of the 2023-24 campaign in also its first top-25 match up of the season while being ranked. The Lady Lions are set to take on the Buckeyes on Sunday, Dec. 10 for the 72nd meeting in the two squads' history. Tip off in Columbus is set for 1 p.m.
Both teams are looking for a win in the tight 37-34 all-time series between the Lady Lions and the Buckeyes with Penn State leading by a three-game edge.
GAME INFORMATION
vs no. 12 Ohio State
- Date: Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023 | Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Columbus Ohio. | Venue: Value City Arena
- Live Stats | Watch: B1G+ | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- The Lady Lions dropped a road test to RV West Virginia in their most recent outing. The final score was 85-63 in the WVU Coliseum.
- Despite leading for a stretch during the first quarter, the Mountaineers extended a lead that Penn State could not catch up to even after bringing the margin to just seven points early in the fourth quarter.
- Tay Valladay led the Lady Lions offense with a season high 18 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting and a 3-of-4 clip from beyond the arc. The graduate student also contributed two assists, two steals and a block. This was Valladay's fourth time reaching double figures in a Penn State uniform and 29th of her career.
- Ali Brigham scored 10 points for the fifth time this season, shooting at a 5-of-8 mark. She also added a steal and a block.
- Chanaya Pinto also scored 10 points while posting four assists, five rebounds and a block.
- Leilani Kapinus led the defense, earning a team high six boards, her sixth time having the team high in rebounds. Kapinus also booked eight points.
- The Lady Lions bench productivity continued its display of dominance, scoring 29 points off the bench marking the eighth game they have earned 20 or more points from subs.
- Penn State's offensive efficiency still maintained despite the result with a 47.3%, a higher rate than WVU in the game.
LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- Makenna Marisa sits ninth in the conference in scoring average (16.0) and eighth in total points scored (144).
- Shay Ciezki ranks 19th in the Big Ten, averaging 13.8 points per game. Her total of 124 points through nine games sits at a rank of 15. Ciezki is fifth in the Big Ten in made three-pointers with 23.
- The Lady Lions rank second in the conference in points scored with 755 through nine games which sits them ninth nationally and third in the Big Ten in scoring average (83.9), 16th in the country.
- Penn State's three-point percentage of 40.8% ranks it second in the Big Ten and at seventh in the nation. The team's 80 three pointers made is third in the league and ninth in the national rankings.
- The Lady Lions also rank second in the league in steals (95), second in blocks (48) and tie for third in the league in assists (163).
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 BUCKEYES
- Ohio State began the 2023-24 campaign ranked 7/6 and now come in at no. 12 in this week's AP poll.
- After dropping their first game of the season to an up-in-ranking USC team by a 83-74 margin, the Buckeyes have wonseven consecutive games, including a recent win over no. 20/22 at the time Tennessee.
- Celeste Taylor is the Big Ten Player of the Week this week.
- Ohio State' most game ended as a 85-45 win over Ohio.
- Graduate guard Jacy Sheldon was named to the Nancy Leiberman Award Watch List ahead of the season. She has now surpassed 1,500 career points,
- Sophomore forward Cotie McMahon was one of 20 players selected to Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List and was also named a AP Preseason Honorable Mention.
- Three Buckeyes are on the Preseason Wooden Award List: Cotie McMahon, Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor.
- Taylor Thierry was named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll (11/27) after averaging 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in two games while earning the Buckeye's first double-double of the season.
- Ohio State finished the 2022-23 season 28-8 after making a run in the Elite Eight and losing to Virginia Tech. The Buckeyes also lost to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament Championship.
PENN STATE –OHIO STATE SERIES
- The Lady Lions lead the all-time series with the Buckeyes 37-34. The series dates back to 1976.
- Ohio State is Penn State's most played opponent in program history with 71 games played throughout the years.
- This will be only the 10th time the two teams face off and both are ranked in the top-25. Ohio State has been ranked higher in five out of the 10. The last time both teams were in the national rankings and played one another was on Feb. 20, 2012 when the Buckeyes were #8 and the Lady Lions were #11. Penn State won the game by a score of 84-66 in Happy Valley.
- The Lady Lions will take on the Buckeyes a second time later this season on Feb. 22, 2024 in Penn State's return to Rec Hal game, marking the first time the Lady Lions will play in their former home since making the move in 1996.
- Ohio State leads games played in Columbus 16-13