MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The seventh-seeded Penn State women's basketball team rode a fast start and a full-team effort to a dominant 80-56 rout of 10th-seeded Wisconsin Thursday night in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Lady Lions now advance to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday night to take on second-seeded Iowa at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
Penn State booked its first trip to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals since 2014 by controlling the Badgers from start to finish as the Lady Lions led by 12 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The Lady Lion depth was on full display as Penn State rode 44 points in the paint and 37 bench points to the dominant victory. The Penn State defense limited the Badgers to a 35.1 FG% and forced 13 Wisconsin turnovers.
Sophomore Kylie Lavelle led a balanced Penn State offensive attack with 14 points behind a 6-for-7 shooting performance. Graduate guard Ashley Owusu contributed 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Makenna Marisa had 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, while Leiliani Kapinus also finished in double figures with 10 points for the fourth-straight outing.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Baskets from Makenna Marisa, Shay Ciezki and Ashley Owusu helped Penn State race out to a 6-2 lead two minutes into the game. The Badgers were within one at 6-5 at the 6:42 mark before a Kylie Lavelle triple sparked a 14-6 Lady Lion run that ran from 5:29 to 2:50. The streak saw seven points from Owusu, five from Lavelle and a Chanaya Pinto driving layup as Penn State pulled ahead 20-11.
Following a Wisconsin layup, the Lady Lions closed their strong opening quarter on a 7-2 spurt as Penn State wrapped up the quarter shooting 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from the field to take a 27-15 lead into the second term.
Second Quarter
The teams exchanged baskets through the opening five minutes of the second quarter as the score sat at 36-27 in favor of the Lady Lions with 4:54 on the clock. Strong defense and five points from Marisa helped fuel a 9-2 Penn State run to close the half. Penn State allowed just one Wisconsin field goal in the final 5:33 as the Lady Lions took a 16-point lead, 45-29, into halftime.
Third Quarter
The Badgers were within 14 at 54-37 just over four minutes into the second half. Penn State used baskets from five different players to rattle off 11 of the next 14 points as the Lady Lion lead reached 22 at 62-40. The Penn State defense held Wisconsin to just one field goal from the 5:45 mark to the 1:02 mark before the Badgers scored the final bucket of the stanza and the Lady Lions carried a 62-42 lead into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Four-straight points from Pinto opened the fourth term and helped the Lady Lions score eight of the first 10 points of the quarter to extend their lead to 70-44 with 5:30 to play. The Badgers were able to pull within 19 at 72-53 with 2:38 left, but Penn State closed strong with eight of the final 11 points of the game as the Lady Lions walked away with the dominant 80-56 win.
POSTGAME NOTES
Seven-seed Penn State vs. 10-seed Wisconsin
Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament – Second Round
March 7, 2024
Target Center (Minneapolis, Minn.)
- The Lady Lions advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2014.
- Penn State's 24-point win is it's second-largest Big Ten Tournament win in program history.
- Penn State is now 3-1 all-time vs. Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State's 24-point win is its largest over the Badgers in the Big Ten Tournament.
- The Lady Lions owned a 44-16 advantage in points in the paint and 37-6 edge in bench points.
- Penn State had 20 assists on 32 made field goals, marking the 11th time this season that the Lady Lions have recorded 20 or more assists.
- Penn State dominated points off turnovers (16-3), second-chance points (17-9) and fast break points (10-1).
- Penn State held Wisconsin leading scorer Serah Williams (18.1 ppg) to just 10 points. Williams was scoreless until the 5:34 mark of the second quarter and limited to just two points in the opening half.
- Penn State shot a blistering 60.7 percent (17-28) from the field in the opening half en route to the early lead.
- Kylie Lavelle scored a season-high 14 points behind a 6-for-7 showing from the field. She finished in double figures for the third time this season.
- Ten different Lady Lions scored in the balanced offensive attack.
- Penn State had a season high rebounds against a B1G opponent with 43 boards.
UP NEXT
Penn State advances to take on second-seeded Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network. The winner of that game advances to Saturday's semifinals.
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