Penn State women’s basketball (1-0) defeated Bucknell (0-1) 94-51 Tuesday night. The Lady Lions unleashed an offensive barrage with sophomore Shay Ciezki leading the way with 18 points while a defensive stand generated 26 turnovers. The Lady Lions are now 14-0 all-time against the Bisons.

How It Happened

After a slow 2-2 offensive start by both teams, Ali Campbell hit the game’s first three to spark a 12-2 run for the Lady Lions, resulting in a Bucknell timeout. Following the timeout, Bucknell went on an 8-2 run of its own until Ciezki ended the run with a three-pointer.

Both teams exchanged offense blows in the final minutes of the first quarter as it ended in a foul on Bucknell’s Grace Sullivan with 0.3 seconds left. Ali Brigham went 1-2 at the line for the Lady Lions to give Penn State a 26-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Lions started the second quarter hot with a layup by Brigham. Penn State then had back-to-back turnovers followed by forcing back-to-back turnovers and a three by Ciezski. The Bisons call another timeout less than two minutes into the second quarter.

The teams went back and forth for the next several minutes as Penn State led 41-25 at the midway point of the quarter. The Lady Lions slowed down offensively in the final minutes but held up well defensively, allowing only six points. A Bucknell turnover at mid-court led to another Ciezki three to close out the half with a 48-31 Penn State lead.

The second half began with a Makenna Marisa three from the corner, a layup by Tay Valladay, and another layup from Marisa with another Bucknell timeout. The Lady Lions made it an 11-1 run for the first three minutes of the quarter until Ashley Sofiikanich made an inside layup for the Bisons.

The Lady Lions continued their dominance with a Valladay layup and a steal by Leilani Kapinus followed by another Valladay layup to make the score 68-37 Penn State. Bucknell strikes back with a layup by Soflilkanich but the Lady Lions comeback with a three from Moriah Murray.

Minutes later, Rosie Scognamiglio hit a three for the Bison before Valladay went 1-2 from the line after going for a layup. On the next possession, Ciezki hits yet another three from the corner to give the Lady Lions a 75-42 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Bucknell began the scoring in the fourth quarter by outscoring Penn State 5-2 until Jayla Oden drew the and-one foul, but missed the free throw. The Lady Lions continued to dominate on both sides of the ball leading to another Bison timeout. Kallie Lavelle hit two threes down the stretch to wrap up the Lady Lions’ 94-51 victory over Bucknell.

Takeaways:

• Ciezski is still good at basketball. She led the offense in scoring with 18 points, four assists, four rebounds, and shot 4-9 from three. The standout freshman is now a standout sophomore.
• The Lady Lions earned a sizeable lead in the first quarter and continued to grow the lead throughout the rest of the game with a balanced offense and solid defense. Despite the lead, Penn State continued to play hard, rough basketball through the fourth quarter.
• The Lady Lions won their seventh straight season-opening game and 52nd home opener. The Bryce Jordan Center has its role as Penn State’s home.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will stay home to take on Navy for Military Appreciation Night at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 10. The game will be streamed on BTN+.