ROSEMONT, Ill.- Penn State women's basketball has five Lady Lions representing the program in postseason Big Ten awards. The five players honored with conference postseason awards marks the most Lady Lions represented in the Big Ten yearly awards under the helm of head coach Carolyn Kieger and most in program history since 2008.
Graduate guard Ashley Owusu earned second team All-Big Ten selected by the coaches and is an honorable mention by the media. Owusu averaged 18 points throughout the regular season and scored in double figures in 13 of her 14 appearances. She leads the team in scoring and assists, averaging 4.07 per game. The Virginia native was named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll on two different occasions and surpassed 1,500 career points and 500 career assists this year.
Senior+ guard Makenna Marisa found herself on the conference postseason award list for the third consecutive season, being named to second team All-Big Ten by the media and honorable mention by the coaches. Marisa averaged 13.7 points throughout the year and was also named to the conference honor roll on two occasions. She achieved a slew of milestones this season including reaching 2,000 career points, something only seven Lady Lions have done. The McMurray, Pa. native has also started in and played in the most games of any Lady Lions in history, ranks fourth all-time in scoring and is tied for third in made three pointers. Marisa notched her 500th career assist in the final regular season game of the year.
Redshirt-junior guard Leilani Kapinus repeats on the All-Defensive team selected by the coaches and media. Kapinus has consistently averaged double digit scoring all season with a 11.1 points per game mark, while leading the team in rebounding with a 6.6 average, blocks with 1.17 per game and steals with 2.14 per game. She was also named an honorable mention by the media.
Tay Valladay earned an honorable mention nod by the media and is selected as Penn State's Sportsmanship Award honoree. Before her injury, Valladay was a leader on the court as the Lady Lion's point guard. She averaged 11.5 points per game, 2.33 assists per game and 1.19 steals per game as a crucial part as the PSU press. She was on her way to notching 1,000 career points and was shooting the ball at a high rate, 56.5% from the field and 52.6% from three-point range. Valladay continues her leadership off the court.
Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki was named an honorable mention by the media. She is the third leading scorer for the Lady Lions, averaging 12.8 points per game. Ciezki consistently ranks at the top of the conference in three point percentage, three pointers made and three pointers per game.
