MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.- Penn State women's basketball, 18-11, 9-9 Big Ten, enters the postseason with its best regular season record since 2016-17. The seventh seeded Lady Lions will take on the 10th seeded Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday, March 7 in the Second Round of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET with the winner advancing to play second seeded Iowa in the Quarterfinals on Friday.
Penn State looks for its third Big Ten Tournament Championship and first in nearly 30 years. The Lady Lions took home the tournament title in 1995 and 1996 but have not been able to claim the championship since. Penn State has won the fifth most Big Ten Tournament titles in the B1G.
GAME INFORMATION
vs Wisconsin
- Date: Thursday, March 37, 2023 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Minneapolis, Minn. | Venue: Target Center
- Live Stats | Watch: Big Ten Network | Notes | Radio
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State won its second consecutive game with a massive statement win over Minnesota with a 90-34 final score.
- This was the team's 12th 90-plus-point performance and second straight as well as their 11th game shooting 55% or better as a squad, posting a 59.6% shooting.
- The Lady Lions held Minnesota to 34 points, their lowest opponent point total since holding Bryant to 33 points in 2022 and held the Gophers to 20% shooting from the field and 18% shooting beyond the arc, their lowest opponent percentages of the season. They also secured their largest margin of victory in a B1G game since defeating Northwestern by a 56-point margin in 2000.
- Penn State tallied 28 assists, a season high.
- Four Lady Lions reached double figures: Kapinus (23), Owusu (15), Ciezki (15), Pinto (10).
- Kapinus shot near perfect, 9-of-10, her only miss was followed by an offensive rebound and tip in layup to complete her own play.
- Makenna Marisa surpassed 500 career assists with her four in the contest.
LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- Shay Ciezki ranks fourth in the B1G and 38th nationally in made three-pointers with 70. Her 39.1 clip beyond the arc sits her sixth in the conference and 43rd nationally and her 2.41 per game sits at fourth in the B1G and 46th in the country.
- Leilani Kapinus is second in the B1G in steals with 62 and steals per game, grabbing 2.14 per game. She is also fifth in the conference in blocks per game with a 1.17 mark.
- The Lady Lions are fifth in the country in three-point percentage and second in the B1G, shooting 38.6%. They also rank 13th nationally and third in the conference in three-pointers per game with nine. The team also has the seventh highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 84.4 points per game.
- Penn State ranks sixth in the nation and third in the conference in field goal percentage (49.5).
- The Lady Lions also rank second in the league in steals per game (9.8), second in blocked shots per game (4.2) and second in bench points per game (25.9).
- Penn State's defense forces 18.83 turnovers per game which is second in the B1G and 46th in the nation.
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 BADGERS
- Wisconsin is the 10th seed in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament with a 13-15, 6-12 Big Ten record.
- Serah Williams was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the media and was named to the All-Defensive team by coaches and media. She was also named to first team All-Big Ten by coaches and media.
- Ronnie Porter was named a All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.
- Williams leads the conference in blocks and steals. She sits at 11th and seventh nationally respectively in those categories. She ranks second in the B1G in rebounds and seventh in the country.
- Williams also leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game, to be the only Badger averaging double figure points per game.
- Williams was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year midseason watch list.
- Wisconsin has not made it past the second round in the Big Ten Tournament since 2019.
- The Badgers have never won the Big Ten Tournament.
PENN STATE –WISCONSIN SERIES
- The Lady Lions lead the all-time series with the Badgers, 35-18 with Wisconsin owning the most recent match up.
- Penn State and Wisconsin have met in the Big Ten Tournament three times and PSU is 2-1 in those games.