UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women's basketball will take on Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament on Thursday, March 28. This will be the final round of campus sites for the WBIT before the final four which will be held in Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Tip off in the Bryce Jordan Center is set for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The NCAA announced the WBIT in 2023 to create equitable NCAA supported postseason basketball opportunities for male and female student-athletes. The 32-team field now creates 100 postseason opportunities for women's basketball student-athletes in addition to the 68-team NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championships, equal to the men.
GAME INFORMATION
vs Mississippi State
- Date: Monday, March 28, 2024 | Time: 6 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Bryce Jordan Center
- Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+ | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State earned its second consecutive come-from-behind win with a 74-66 win over Belmont on Monday. After being down by three at halftime, the Lady Lions battled back scoring 22 and 23 points in the third and fourth quarters respectively.
- Four players broke the 10-point mark.
- Makenna Marisa led the squad with 18 points, three assists and two steals.
- Ashley Owusu had 16 points to go with five rebounds to bring her to 500 career boards.
- Leilani Kapinus reached the 1000 career point mark with 13 points in her seventh straight double figure scoring performance. She also contributed seven rebounds, all in the second half.
- Jayla Oden cracked the 10-point mark, scoring 10 points with three assists and two steals.
- Penn State forced 20 turnovers while limiting its own to nine. Four of the turnovers forced came from the lethal Lady Lions press in their front court off the inbound.
- There were six lead changes and two tie scores throughout the contest.
- The Lady Lions earned their 21st win, their highest program single-season win total since 2016-17.
LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- The Lady Lions are 10th in the country in three-point percentage and third in the B1G, shooting 37.5%. They also rank 17th nationally and third in the conference in three-pointers per game with 8.6. The team also has the sixth highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 83.6 points per game.
- Penn State ranks sixth in the nation and third in the conference in field goal percentage (48.9).
- The Lady Lions also rank second in the league in steals per game (9.4), third in blocked shots per game (4.2) and second in bench points per game (25.5).
- Penn State's defense forces 18.30 turnovers per game which is second in the B1G and 66th in the nation.
- Shay Ciezki ranks sixth in the B1G and 66th nationally in made three-pointers with 73. Her 37.4 clip beyond the arc sits her seventh in the conference and 64th nationally and her 2.21 per game sits at seventh in the B1G and 88th in the country.
- Leilani Kapinus is second in the B1G in steals with 68 and second in steals per game, grabbing 2.06 per game. She is also fifth in the conference in blocks per game with a 1.56 mark.
2023-24 ACCOLADES
- Five Lady Lions earned postseason conference honors, the most Penn State has seen since 2008. Ashley Owusu earned second team All-Big Ten coaches and honorable mention by media. Makenna Marisa was named to second team All-Big Ten media and honorable mention by coaches. Leilani Kapinus earned All-Defensive team for coaches and media as well as honorable mention by media. Shay Ciezki and Tay Valladay are honorable mentions.
- Marisa was named to the Watch List for the 2024 College All-Star Game.
- 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. She repeated on the list on 2/6 after averaging 17.5 points, eight rebounds and four assists in two games while tallying her 1,500th career point.
- 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 found herself on the honor roll again on 1/29 after surpassing 2,000 career 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 BULLDOGS
- The Bulldogs improved to an impressive 23-11 (8-8 SEC) record on the season with a 68-61 win over TCU in the second round of the WBIT on Sunday, March 24.
- Mississippi State earned a two seed in the WBIT, hosting the first and second rounds in Starkville.
- Mississippi State was the eight seed in the SEC Tournament, falling to ninth-place Texas A&M, 72-56.
- The Bulldogs earned a marquee victory over defending national champion LSU on Jan. 29 in a 77-73 decision.
- Senior guard Jerkaila Jordan and graduate center Jessika Carter earned Second Team All-SEC honors.
- Jordan leads the way with 15.6 points per game. She is second on the team in rebounds and third in assists.
- Carter nearly averages a double-double with 15 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. She ranks 36th in the country in rebounding.
- Mississippi State sits at 25th in the country in assists per game (17.1) and assist/turnover ratio (1.20). The team is 25th in rebounds per game (40.94) and 32nd in rebounding margin (6.5).
- The Bulldogs rank 34th nationally in field goal percentage, making 44.98% of their shots.
- This is the eigth appearance in an invitation tournament (NWIT/WNIT/WBIT) for Mississippi State and the third time reaching the quarterfinals in those events.
- Mississippi State is 47 in the NET rankings.
PENN STATE – MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES
- The Lady Lions own the only matchup between the programs, an 82-66 victory on Nov. 20, 2002 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Kelly Mazzante scored 36 points in the game, tied for 12th in program history for most points in a game.