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Penn State Athletics

Women’s Basketball Travels to North Star State for Clash with Minnesota

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.- Penn State women's basketball heads to Minneapolis, Minn. to take on the Minnesota Golder Gophers on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Tip off in Williams Arena is slated for 8 p.m. ET with a live video stream available on B1G+. 
 
The Lady Lions (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten) look for their sixth straight win as they take on the Golden Gophers (14-6, 4-5 Big Ten) who look to bounce back from a tight 73-68 loss to Illinois.
 
GAME INFORMATION
vs Minnesota

  • Date: Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
  • Location: Piscataway, N.J. | Venue: Value City Arena
  • Live Stats | Watch: B1G+ | Notes | Radio
  • Admission: Ticketed 

LAST TIME OUT

  • Penn State women's basketball had a monumental outing against Maryland on Sunday, Jan. 28. Not only did the Lady Lions earn their fifth straight conference game, they defeated Maryland for the first time since Dec. 3, 2003 by a scored of 112-76, the second most points scored on Maryland in Terrapins program history and most points scored by a B1G opponent.
  • The Lady Lions improve to 15-5 overall, their best start to season through 20 games since starting the 2013-14 season 16-4 and also move to 6-3 in B1G play, their best start in conference through nine games since beginning that season 8-1.
  • Penn State shattered yet another record, one it previously shattered earlier this season. On Dec. 20 the Lady Lions scored 14 three-pointers a program record and then broke their own record by scoring 16 in their win against Maryland.
  • The 112-point performance was Penn State's fourth time this season scoring 100-plus-points.
  • Makenna Marisa was honored at the start of the game for surpassing 2,000 career points last week against Northwestern and went on to lead all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-13 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. 
  • Owusu scored in double figures for the fifth straight game with 16 points and also posted six rebounds and seven assists.
  • Leilani Kapinus also produced effective offense, scoring 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from range. She also added a team high seven boards and four steals.
  • Valladay was the final Lady Lion in double figures with 14 points, her 11th double figure performance of the season.

LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS 

  • Makenna Marisa ranks 8th in the B1G in points per game and 8th in field goal percentage (50.3).
  • Shay Ciezki ranks 16th in the Big Ten, averaging 14.1 points per game. Her total of 282 points through 20 games sits at a rank of 14. Ciezki is fourth in the Big Ten and 29th nationally in made three-pointers with 52. Her 40.3 clip beyond the arc sits her 5th in the conference.
  • Leilani Kapinus is 5th in the conference in blocks per game with a 1.10 mark and 1st in steals (44).
  • The Lady Lions are second in the country in three-point percentage and first in the B1G, shooting 41.7%. They also rank 11th nationally and third in the conference in three-pointers per game with 9.2. The team also has the 5th highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 87.6 points per game.
  • Penn State ranks 4th in the nation and 3rd in the conference in field goal percentage (51.0).
  • The Lady Lions also rank first in the league in steals per game (10.5), second in blocked shots per game (4.5) and 1st in bench points per game (27.5).
  • Penn State's defense forces 20.45 turnovers per game which is second in the B1G and 25th in the nation.

2023-24 ACCOLADES

  • Ashley Owusu was named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll (1/22) after averaging 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in two of Penn State's B1G wins.
  • 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 11/27.
  • 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 GOLDEN GOPHERS

  • Minnesota has had a successful first half of the 2023-24 campaign with a 14-6 overall record but recently falling to a 4-5 conference record.
  • The Golden Gophers have statement conference wins over Maryland, Nebraska and Michigan State.
  • Minnesota is a on a two-game slide, dropping recent games to Illinois and Wisconsin.
  • The Golden Gophers produce the second-best scoring defense in the conference, holding opponents to a 60.6 clip which ranks them 94th nationally.
  • Mara Braun, their leading scorer, was injured in their recent game and is out indefinitely with a foot injury. She ranks second in three pointers and ninth in three-point percentage.
  • Three other Gophers average double digit scoring: Amaya Battle (10.9), Grace Grocholski (10.8) and Mallory Heyer (10.1).

PENN STATE –MINNESOTA SERIES

  • The Lady Lions lead the all-time series with the Golden Gophers by a 30-25 margin.
  • Penn State owns the most recent match up, the first round of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament, when the Lady Lions defeated the Golder Gophers 72-67 to advance to the second round of the conference post season tournament.