MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Penn State women's basketball rolled to its sixth-straight Big Ten Conference win with an 80-64 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers Wednesday night inside Williams Arena. Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki finished with a game-high 18 points while graduate guard Ashley Owusu booked her first double-double since arriving in Happy Valley, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Lions' victorious outing in the North Star State propelled PSU to a 16-5 overall record with a 7-3 ledger against B1G opposition in the 2023-24 campaign. Penn State's dominant start to the year continues, with the Blue & White continuing its best start to a campaign since the 2013-14 squad got out to a 17-4 opening with an 8-2 mark through 10 B1G contests. The Lady Lions improve to 31-25 against Minnesota all-time and own back-to-back victories against the Gophers dating to last year's Big Ten Tournament opening-round victory. In defeat, Minnesota falls to 12-8 and 4-5 in B1G action.
Penn State managed to outshoot Minnesota from the field and significantly surpassed the home team in 3-point shooting, with the Lady Lions drilling 37% of their attempts from long range while holding the Gophers to an abysmal 13% mark from deep. The differential in fastbreak points told the story of the game, with PSU scoring 13 points in transition against four points allowed the other direction. The Lady Lion bench also continued its dominant string of performances, outscoring Minnesota by a 26-8 mark in terms of points off the pine.
Owusu, a native of Woodbridge, Virginia, booked the seventh double-double of her accomplished collegiate career and secured her first since transferring to Penn State this season. The veteran guard poured in 17 points with a career-high 11 rebounds, adding a game-high six assists for good measure. Ciezki impressed in her appearance off the bench, leading all scorers with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting with a 4-for-9 mark from 3-point land. The Buffalo, New York, native added a pair of rebounds and an assist to her final line.
Redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus was dominant on both ends of the court once again, logging 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting with a 3-pointer in addition to logging six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Senior+ guard Makenna Marisa booked another double-digit scoring outing with 13 points, also contributing six rebounds, five assists and a steal with just one turnover on the night. Senior forward Ali Brigham added five points and five rebounds, redshirt junior guard Alli Campbell tallied three points of her own and junior guard Jayla Oden finished with three points after connecting from long range in the fourth quarter of action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
A sluggish opening two minutes saw both squads struggle to find points in the early going, but Marisa found Kapinus just outside the arc to put Penn State ahead 3-0. Marisa found the bottom of the net herself from long-range on the next possession, but the Golden Gophers replied with a quick 4-0 scoring run to bring the early Lady Lion lead down to two. Brilliant ball movement found Valladay wide open in the left corner for yet another 3-point bucket before the media break, with Penn State wielding a 9-4 edge at the under-five. Minnesota came out of the break and drove for a quick layup, but back-to-back buckets from Ciezki and Pinto kept PSU safely in control. Each offense began to settle into a rhythm over the next few minutes, with Kapinus' stellar effort on the defensive end culminating in a quick 5-0 run that ultimately resulted in a 23-12 Lady Lion lead after the opening quarter.
Second Quarter
The Gophers buried a pair of shots at the charity stripe to open the first minute of the second period, but a smooth pass by Brigham to a cutting Ciezki resulted in PSU's first bucket of the frame. Owusu connected on a jumper the possession before graduate guard Tay Valladay went down with an injury. The Golden Gophers came out of the stoppage and rattled off a 5-0 scoring run just before Owusu hit a mid-range jumper and Marisa connected from the left corner for 3-points to preserve the double-digit edge before the media break. Out of the short intermission, both teams continued to play evenly over the next few minutes, with multiple Lady Lions burying shots from multiple spots on the court. A last-second mid-range jumper from Owusu before the end of the quarter gave PSU a sturdy 40-28 lead at the halftime break.
Third Quarter
Penn State wasted little time in continuing its offensive efficiency out of halftime, with Kapinus booking an and-one layup in the first minute of work. Minnesota rattled off a 5-0 reply over the next two minutes, but an ensuing two-minute stretch without a Golden Gopher field goal paved the way for an emphatic Ciezki triple with 5:51 to play in the period. After a quick Minnesota timeout, the Gophers managed to book back-to-back buckets, but multiple hard-earned trips to the charity stripe kept Penn State up by double figures. A Ciezki 3-pointer at the 2:57 mark of the period hushed the Williams Arena crowd, and a relatively quiet remainder of the period saw Penn State take a 13-point lead into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Minnesota was solid down low early in the final 10 minutes of work, with the Golden Gophers connecting on a trio of attempts from inside the 3-point arc. An early 3-pointer from Ciezki helped PSU's offense remain in command, while a 7-0 scoring run midway through the frame saw the Blue & White build their largest lead to that point at 70-51. Owusu drilled a 3-pointer moments later, and Kapinus drove through the lane for a layup to cap off an emphatic 12-0 PSU run that effectively sealed the victory. The last four minutes passed with relative ease, and the Lady Lions earned their sixth consecutive victory in B1G play by way of an 80-64 result in Minneapolis.
POSTGAME NOTES
RV Penn State at Minnesota
January 31, 2024
Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minn.)
- This win marks Penn State's longest win streak of the year and longest Big Ten win streak since winning six straight games from Jan. 16, 2014 to Feb. 2, 2014.
- Owusu earned her first double-double as a Lady Lion and sixth of her career. She marks the second Lady Lion to notch a double-double this campaign.
- Four Lady Lions scored in double figures: Ciezki for the 14th time this season with 18 points, Owusu for the sixth time with 17 points, Kapinus for the 9th time with 16 points and Marisa for the 13th time with 13 points.
- Sophomore guard Ciezki posted a game high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field including 4-of-9 from long range.
- Kapinus produced effective shooting yet again, sinking six of her nine shots from the field. On top of her offense, her defense was key to the win with two steals, two blocks and six boards.
- This was the Lady Lions' 15th outing out of 21 scoring 80 points or more as a team
- Penn State held the lead for the entire contest.
- Nine different Lady Lions contributed to the point column.
- This is Penn State's second consecutive game with double digit three pointers made with 11 throughout the contest.
- The Lady Lions totaled 18 assists.
- Penn State held the Minnesota scoreless for the opening three minutes of the contest.
- Owusu surpassed the double-digit mark before the conclusion of the half for the fourth consecutive game.
UP NEXT
The Lady Lions return to Happy Valley to host Michigan in their annual Pink Zone game on Saturday, Feb. 3. TIp off in the Bryce Jordan Center is set for 6 p.m. and will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.
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