Penn State women’s basketball (7-5, 1-1 Big Ten) beat Duquesne (5-7) 68-60 Saturday afternoon at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh.

Makenna Marisa led the Lady Lions with a career-high 33 points. Meanwhile, Penn State forced 20 turnovers, put up seven blocks, and tallied nine steals as it sneaked past the Dukes.

How It Happened

Leilani Kapinus was able to win the tip for the Lady Lions, but the first bucket of the game didn’t come until Makenna Marisa hit an easy fast break lay-up a minute into the first quarter. Laia Sole and Marisa traded buckets early as the offense started to come alive for both sides.

Libby Bazelak sunk the first three of the game and gave the Dukes their first lead of the game. Ali Brigham joined in on the scoring party for the Lady Lions and hit two easy buckets in the paint. However, the Lady Lions remained down three halfway through the first.

Duquesne finished the first quarter on top by four after forcing four turnovers and shooting a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. The Lady Lions finished shooting 1-for-8 from three with six total turnovers.

Brigham got it going early with an easy lay-up and a block on the next possession to bring this game within two. However, it was Tess Myers and Bazelak who turned it on to put seven quick points for the Dukes as they brought their lead back up to seven.

The offense was flowing for both teams as the second quarter continued, but Duquesne kept its two-possession lead. Brigham was the first Lady Lion to reach double figures in today’s matchup after sinking two free throws mid-way through the second.

Penn State finished the half going on an 11-3 run while shooting 5-for-9 from the field. Marisa lead the run by scoring seven, and she had 15 points for the Lady Lions as they entered into half up by two.

Shay Hagans and Kapinus got it going for Penn State to start the second half, but it was Tess Myers who scored five-straight points to tie this game back up. She now has 18 points, including four three-pointers.

After a timeout from Carolyn Kieger with seven minutes left in the third, Penn State went on a quick 13-5 run led by Marisa, again. This time, she sunk in two from beyond the arc and now led the game in points with 23.

Megan McConnell rattled in a three and Marisa responded with a lay-up of her own to finish the third quarter. Penn State remained up by ten into the final ten minutes of action.

Duquesne started the fourth on a 8-0 run led by Amaya Hamilton to bring this game back within two. Fatou Pouye was able to tie the game up after a coast-to-coast play entering into the mid-way point of the final quarter of play.

It was non other than Marisa again as she led the Lady Lions on a 6-0 run as she scored four and assisted on the other. Brigham sank one free throw to extend this lead to eight and secured the win for Penn State.

Takeaways

• It is time to put respect on Makenna Marisa’s name, folks. She absolutely dominated today’s match up with the Dukes by scoring 33 points, shot 12-27 from the field, while also playing all 40 minutes of the game.
• After starting games in the beginning of the season, Coach Kieger decided to move Ali Brigham to the bench after Penn State’s loss to Boston College and it has worked wonders since. Penn State is now 3-1 since the move and Brigham is averaging 9.7 points and 7.25 boards while coming off the bench.
• After today’s game, the Lady Lions are now done with non-conference games for the regular season. Penn State will now see how its skills hold up in the Big Ten.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will travel back home to the Bryce Jordan Center with a match up against the Iowa Hawkeyes next Thursday, December 30. Tip-off it set for 3 p.m. and will be streamed on the Big Ten Network.