UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women's basketball booked its most dominant performance of the 2023-24 campaign on Sunday afternoon and left the Bryce Jordan Center with an astounding 112-76 victory against the Maryland Terrapins. The Lady Lions secured their first win over UMD since the 2003-04 season and scored the second most points by a Terrapin opponent in their program history.
The Blue & White are off to their best start to a season since 2013-14, with the Lady Lions boasting a 15-5 overall record through its first 20 games of the season. The 13-14 squad got off to a 16-4 start and ultimately finished 24-8 overall with a trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. PSU is also off to its best start in Big Ten Conference competition since the 2013-14 squad posted an 8-1 start. The Lady Lions maintain a 6-3 ledger against B1G challengers, securing six league wins in a season for the first time since 2020-21. PSU's last instance of notching 15-or-more overall victories came in 2017-18 when the team finished with 16. In defeat, Maryland falls to 12-8 overall, dropping consecutive league games for the first time this year and moving to 4-5 in the B1G.
Penn State improved to 15-21 in the all-time series with Maryland and picked up its first win over the Terrapins since December 3, 2003, when the Lady Lions secured an 82-65 victory on the road in College Park. The Blue & White's 112-point offensive output was the most points scored against any Terrapin women's basketball team since the program's inception 52 years ago in 1971-72. Maryland's previous record for opponent points allowed was 104 surrendered against Auburn on March 26, 1988. The Lady Lions surpassed 100 points against a Big Ten challenger for the first time since logging a 101-80 result against Illinois on February 15, 2001.
One of the most dominant offensive performances in Lady Lion history, PSU finished shooting 61.5% from both the field and from beyond the arc. The 2023-24 Blue & White shattered their own record for 3-pointers made in a single game, finishing with 16 makes from 3-point land. Penn State's previous record of 15 makes came against Central Connecticut State on December 20, 2023. The Lady Lions outrebounded the Terps by three and outscored UMD in points off the bench by a 37-25 tally. The differential in fastbreak scoring proved to be key, as the Blue & White outscored Maryland 35-10 in the category.
On an individual basis, senior+ guard Makenna Marisa led all scorers with 24 points after shooting 10-for-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. The McMurray, Pennsylvania, native recorded back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in the 2023-24 season, her fifth 20-point outing of the year and her 42nd career 20-point effort. Former Terrapin guard and current Lady Lion star Ashley Owusu dropped 16 points with a season-high seven assists and six rebounds. Owusu has cracked double figures in five straight games, leading the Lady Lions to five consecutive victories in Big Ten play for the first time since 2013-14.
Redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus finished the afternoon with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor and a pair of made triples in addition to seven rebounds. Graduate guard Tay Valladay poured in 14 points with five made field goals and a 3-pointer, rounding out the four Lady Lions in double figures in the contest. Graduate forward Chanaya Pinto added nine points, including an emphatic 3-pointer to end the third quarter, while sophomore guard Shay Ciezki contributed eight. Senior forward Ali Brigham, redshirt sophomore forward Grace Hall and junior guard Jayla Oden each tallied six points apiece. Sophomore forward Kylie Lavelle booked five points and redshirt freshman guard Moriah Murray rounded out the 11 Penn Staters on the box score with a made 3-pointer.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Brigham controlled the opening tip for the Lady Lions and Marisa found the bottom of the net with a left-wing 3-pointer to open Sunday's scoring. Brigham battled in the paint for a layup and a ruthless drive from Owusu gave PSU an early 7-0 advantage. The Terrapins responded with a quick 4-0 run, but a Brigham-to-Marisa give-and-go expanded the Penn State lead back to two possessions. A relatively innocuous 90 seconds passed after that, with the Blue & White leading 9-5 at the media timeout. Free throw woes plagued Maryland as the quarter wore on, but the Terrapins were eventually able to find the bottom of the net to cut PSU's lead to two. A personal 5-0 run from Valladay cooled things down for PSU, and the Lady Lions rode a 9-2 run to close out the quarter and take an 18-9 lead into the second.
Second Quarter
Owusu opened the second period of action with a straight-away stare down 3-pointer to beat the buzzer on PSU's opening possession, and a 2-for-2 trip to the line from Vallady put Penn State up 23-9. The Terrapins rattled in multiple baskets in a row to complete a 10-0 run, but a jumper from Marisa steadied things for the Blue & White before the media timeout. Leading 25-19 out of the break, Owusu immediately drained another jumper from long range before, but both teams traded baskets over the next minute, resulting in a 32-21 Penn State lead. Neither team managed to sustain any significant momentum over the final couple minutes, with each squad jockeying for control down the stretch. PSU battled through the last minute and change, closing the half on a 7-0 run to take a 45-32 lead at the break.
Third Quarter
Maryland came out of the halftime intermission and opened the second half with a layup down low followed by a successful trip to the charity stripe. Baskets fell in abundance for both teams over the next three minutes, but PSU was largely able to maintain its double-digit lead. A pair of makes at the line from Kapinus before the media break put the Lady Lions ahead by a 56-45 margin midway through the third. Strong defense on one end paved the way for a magnificent bounce pass from Ciezki to Valladay for a quick bucket out of the break. Maryland booked a bucket on the other end, but a left-wing triple from Kapinus followed by a right-wing 3-pointer from Ciezki forced the Terps into a timeout, trailing 64-41. Offense was the name of the game for the final two minutes, with Penn State managing to close out the third with a 79-60 lead after a Pinto buzzer-beating triple to end the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Marisa found Hall for an easy bucket down low, and a block from Hall on the other end paved the way for a Marisa triple that nearly blew the roof off the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State started the final period on a 7-0 scoring run, but the Terrapins booked an 8-0 reply to pull back within 20. A pair of free throw makes from Pinto halted the Maryland run with around six minutes to play, but the Terps got the points right back with a layup on the other end. A Marisa 3-ball on the left wing followed by a charge drawn on the defensive end appeared to be the dagger, and PSU spent the final three minutes of the game raining down a multitude of 3-pointers. By the time the dust settled, Penn State had booked the most points by a Terrapin opponent in UMD history, finishing off a 112-76 home win.
POSTGAME NOTES
Maryland at Penn State
January 28, 2024
Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, Pa.)
- This is Penn State's first win over Maryland since Dec. 3, 2003.
- The Lady Lions scored 112 points on the Terrapins, the second most Maryland has given up in school history.
- This win marks the first time Penn State has won 15 or more wins since the 2017-18 season.
- Today's attendance marks the largest crowd of the season for Penn State women's basketball with 3532 fans in attendance.
- Penn State is off to its best overall start through 20 games since starting 16-4 in the 2013-14 season and best Big Ten start since 2013-14 when the team started 8-1 through nine games in conference play.
- This win marks the first time the Lady Lions have won five consecutive B1G games since the 2013-14 season from Jan. 16-Feb. 2 when they won six straight conference contests.
- The victory also marks Penn State's fourth scoring performance of 100-plus-points during this campaign.
- The Lady Lions shattered their own three-point record with 16. The previous record was set earlier this season against Central Connecticut when they recorded 14 three-pointers. The team scored 12 in the second half.
- This victory marks the first 100-plus-point game against a Big Ten opponent since scoring 101 against Illinois on Feb. 15, 2001 in a 101-80 victory.
- Four Lady Lions scored double digit points: Marisa (24) for her second straight game, Owusu (16) for her fifth consecutive game, Leilani Kapinus (15) marking her eighth game in double figures and Tay Valladay (14) for the 11th time this year.
- Marisa produced highly effective shooting, going 10-of-13 including 4-of-6 from the three-point.
- Kapinus produced 5-of 7 shooting from the field including 2-of-2 from three. She also posted a team high seven boards and four steals.
- Penn State earned its best shooting percentages from the field and from beyond the arc of the season, at a 61.5% in both categories.
- The Lady Lions totaled 35 fast break points to the Terrapins 10.
- Penn State engaged in a 7-0 run to start game, the team's best start to a Big Ten game so far this season. The Lady Lions held the Terrapins scoreless for the first 2:30 minutes of the game.
- The Lady Lions totaled 37 bench points, to continue their success from subs as they rank second in the conference in that category.
- Owusu and Marisa surpassed double digit points in the first half. This was Owusu's third consecutive game passing the double figure mark in the first two quarters.
- This was Penn State's seventh straight game leading at half time.
Postgame Press Conference Head Coach Carolyn Kieger
Postgame Press Conference Makenna Marisa and Ashley Owusu
UP NEXT
The Lady Lions travel to Minnesota on Wednesday, Jan. 31 for a midweek match up.
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