INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- Penn State women's basketball will take on Villanova in the semifinals of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. The game will take place inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday, April 1 and will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Tip time is set for 2:30 p.m. ET.
Both the Lady Lions and the Wildcats are one-seeds out of their respective brackets.
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 Villanova
- Date: Monday, April 1, 2024 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Indianapolis, Ind. | Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse
- Live Stats | Watch: ESPNU | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State earned its 22nd win of the season with tough 92-87 victory over Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the WBIT.
- The win marked the team's best single-season win record since 2013-14.
- Three Lady Lions in double figures led the offense: Owusu (24), Marisa (22) and Campbell (10).
- Kapinus was just shy of the 10-point mark, scoring nine but having a career high five massive blocks, including two down the stretch.
- Campbell shot perfect, going 4-of-4 from the floor including 2-of-2 from long range.
- The Lady Lions shot the ball effectively from the field, posting a 58% clip and also registered a 96% mark from the charity stripe.
- Penn State earned its 13th 90-plus-point win of the season.
- There were 10 lead changes and eight tie scores throughout the game.
LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- The Lady Lions are 11th in the country in three-point percentage and third in the B1G, shooting 37.4%. They also rank 19th nationally and third in the conference in three-pointers per game with 8.5. 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 (49.1).
- The Lady Lions also rank third in the league in steals per game (9.2), third in blocked shots per game (4.2) and second in bench points per game (25.6).
- Penn State's defense forces 17.97 turnovers per game which is third in the B1G and 71st in the nation.
- Shay Ciezki ranks sixth in the B1G and 59th nationally in made three-pointers with 74. Her 37.6 clip beyond the arc sits her sixth in the conference and 61st nationally and her 2.18 per game sits at seventh in the B1G.
- Leilani Kapinus is second in the B1G in steals with 69 and second in steals per game, grabbing 2.03 per game. She is also fifth in the conference in blocks per game with a 1.26 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 WILDCATS
- The Wildcats hold a 21-12 overall record after going 11-7 in the Big East.
- Villanova lost to Marquette in its first game in the Big East Tournament.
- Villanova is one of the four no. 1 seeds in the WBIT.
- They have wins in the WBIT over VCU, Virginia and Saint Joseph's.
- Last season, Villanova made a run in the NCAA Tournament to the Sweet 16 where it lost to Miami.
- Most recently, the Wildcats defeated Saint Joseph's in the semifinals of the WBIT by a score of 73-55.
- Lucy Olsen leads the team in scoring, averaging 23.4 points per game, the only Wildcat in double figures on a game-by-game basis. She ranks fifth in the country in total points with 772 and third in points per game. She is also second in the nation in field goals with 297.
- Christina Dalce sits third in the country in offensive rebounds per game with 4.9 and 27th in total rebounds with 319.
- Olsen earned first team All-Big East and was named the Most Improved Player. Dalce is a conference honorable mention as well as the Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Maddie Webber earned All-Freshmen team honors.
- Villanova ranks 13th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.36).
- Villanova is 52 in the NET rankings.
PENN STATE – VILLANOVA SERIES
- The Lady Lions own an 8-5 all-time margin against Villanova.
- Penn State has not played Villanova in nearly two decades.
- The two teams met in the first round of the inaugural WNIT in 1998. Penn State came away with a 68-61 win and ended as the eventual first ever Champions of the WNIT.