Penn State women’s basketball (7-3, 0-1 Big Ten) fell just short of pulling off a huge upset over Ohio State women’s basketball (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) in the Sunday afternoon matchup. In both team’s first Big Ten matchup of the season, the Lady Lions showed a valiant effort.

Riddled with injuries and foul trouble, the Lady Lions still had performances from Makenna Marisa and Shay Ciezki, who combined for 47 points.

How It Happened

The Buckeyes won the tip, but their momentum was thwarted when Chanaya Pinto took a strong charge to kick off the game. The first points on the scoreboard came moments later from Ohio State’s Celeste Taylor.

Less than two minutes into the game, both teams had already racked up two fouls each. Both teams came out very aggressive with an eager energy. Additionally, the Lady Lions had three turnovers right off the bat.

Another offensive foul from Ohio State came three minutes into the game as Leilani Kapinus took another charge for Penn State. Jacy Sheldon sunk two free throws to put the Buckeyes up 4-0.

The referees called yet another offensive foul on the afternoon as Marisa braced for a charge. The Lady Lions got their first points on the board with a layup from Ali Brigham, followed by another layup from Taylor Valladay off of a steal from Ciezki.

The Steal. The Pass. The Finish. #NCAAWBB x B1G+ / @PennStateWBB pic.twitter.com/uXg9FmJoRQ

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) December 10, 2023

Cotie McMahon answered for the Ohio State offense off of a fast break. Marisa pulled up for a step-back three and tied the game up seconds later as the first media timeout got underway.

McMahon came out hot from the timeout and put up a strong layup and a steal moments later on the other end of the court. This led to two fast break points for the Buckeyes.

Kapinus went 2-2 at the free throw line to bring the score to 13-9, Ohio State. The free throw game continued back and forth due to the high volume of fouls.

Jacy Sheldon got to work quickly for the Buckeyes and added six points in a matter of minutes. With additional free throws for Valladay and a layup from Marisa, the score landed at 20-13, Ohio State.

Marisa clinched a huge three for Penn State with just over two minutes to play. Jayla Oden added another one of her own minutes later.

THREE for Makenna Marisa – up to 8 points pic.twitter.com/mKM6cHgi9M

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

The score finally began to build for both teams as they began the true back-and-forth battle. Ciezki swished a three that tied the game up with seconds to go in the first quarter.

HEAT CHECK

Three from Shay Ciezki to tie the score after 10 minutes pic.twitter.com/ywlEMl3IHA

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

Ohio State added another offensive foul as Moriah Murray took a charge for the Nittany Lions. After a long, aggressive 10 minutes, the first quarter came to a close with a tie game, 26-26.

Brigham picked up the offense immediately at the start of the second quarter with two strong layups. Murray landed another three off of a dish from Ciezki, and the Lady Lions went up by seven to force an Ohio State timeout.

Pass shoot drained

Penn State in the lead

8:21, Q2 | PSU 33, OSU 26 pic.twitter.com/XWmjtG5wlf

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

Three-pointers from Ohio State’s Celeste Taylor and Penn State’s Marisa provided big plays on both sides of the floor. Both teams seemed to have finally reached their offensive groove mid-way through the second quarter.

Ciezki hit another three and recorded a layup moments later off of a steal from Murray, forcing yet another Buckeye timeout. Penn State took clear advantage of missed Ohio State shots and turnovers, giving it a large lead, 41-29.

Sheldon answered to give the Buckeyes some momentum, and they began a 5-0 offensive run. Marisa ended their burst with her 16th point of the day, and the margin came in at a six-point differential. She continued to be a dominant force for the Penn State offense, both in and outside of the lane.

Driving all the way to the basket pic.twitter.com/KbThRMABWm

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

As soon as she entered the game, Kylie Lavelle made her presence known with a smooth jumper. The Buckeyes consistently struggled to finish on any of their shots to narrow the gap.

The second quarter ended with Penn State up by ten points, 50-40.

Penn State started hot in the third quarter, as Ciezki raked in her 13th point of the day with an effortless three. Both teams continued to fight for every loose ball and maintained an aggressive mindset throughout every play.

DANCIN' BEYOND THE ARC

SHAY CIEZKI WITH ANOTHER 3 pic.twitter.com/JGoVZ2LnMX

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

After a jumper from Marisa that tallied her 20th point, Rebecca Mikulasikova hit a clutch three-pointer for the Ohio State offense.

With the turnaround, Makenna Marisa has 2⃣0⃣ points pic.twitter.com/6IiMOvLwDT

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

Penn State remained relentless even throughout some missed shots on both sides, and Ciezki added another layup to bring the score to 57-46. McMahon produced a big play for the Buckeyes and initiated contact for an and-1 shot.

Even when Ohio State started to chip away at the differential, Valladay put up a powerful over-the-top jumper. After struggling with finishing on free throws all day, McMahon secured two for the Buckeyes.

Sheldon sunk her first points of the second half with two free throws and a layup moments later. Penn State was forced to call a 30-second timeout to regain its composure. Ohio State fans began to build a sense of electricity in the arena after their team narrowed the scoring margin to 61-59.

Oden went down on the floor and left the game to head to the locker room, for what appeared to be a knee injury. Murray silenced the Ohio State bench and crowd with a huge three off of an extra pass from Kapinus.

Mo doing Mo things pic.twitter.com/YayzaDQv39

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

Marisa hit Kapinus under the basket for an and-one play, in which Kapinus then secured her own rebound and added another layup with one second to spare. The third quarter came to a close with Penn State up 68-59.

With just 10 minutes left to play in the battle, Sheldon opened up the fourth quarter for Ohio State with a three-pointer. Once again, McMahon finished underneath and narrowed the gap to four points.

With Penn State still scoreless in the fourth quarter, Ohio State’s Mikulasikova swished a right-wing three to put the Buckeyes up for the first time in the second half. Penn State took back its lead with a strong move down below from Kapinus.

Leilani drives to the basket for two pic.twitter.com/cBTdYlqsQX

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 10, 2023

Taylor put up a two for Ohio State and then fouled Marisa on the other end of the court. A layup from Taylor Thierry and a jumper from Mikulasikova put the Buckeyes up four with under three minutes to play.

Marisa, still determined, banked a layup and moments later sunk a jumper from the Big TEn logo to tie things back up. After a 30-second timeout, McMahon drove down low and Kapinus fouled out of the game while trying to defend the drive.

Taylor swished the biggest three of the game to give the Buckeyes a four-point lead right out of the timeout. With under 30 seconds left in the game, the Ohio State defense pressured Penn State, forcing it to call a timeout.

Marisa landed an alley-oop off of the inbounds play, and the Lady Lions trailed by two. Pinto picked off the ball from the Ohio State offense and Valladay made a beautiful move under the basket to tie the game, 80-80 with 11 seconds to play.

Ohio State could not get a shot off at the buzzer due to the defensive efforts of Penn State. The Buckeyes and Lady Lions headed into their first overtime of the season after an intense fourth quarter.

Two fouls started the overtime play for the Lady Lions. Valladay fouled out of the game and McMahon made one of her two free throws to give the Buckeyes a one-point lead. Penn State was in a significant amount of foul trouble in overtime as Pinto was also forced to make her way to the bench.

Ohio State appeared in control of the overtime play, and Sheldon clinched a two to bring the Buckeye lead to 87-80. Marisa went down on the play and was carried off to the locker room. This was truly a devastating loss to the Penn State team in the final minutes of play.

Without its lead scorer and key contributors fouled out of the game, Penn State fell nine points behind Ohio State with 39 seconds to go. Oden reappeared for Penn State and Brigham secured her rebound to clinch a layup.

The foul game from earlier reemerged as Penn State tried to stop the clock. Sheldon continued to sink free throws, widening the gap and guaranteeing the Buckeyes the game.

After a fearless effort all around, Ohio State secured the victory, 94-84, over Penn State.

Takeaways

• Sunday was the first two times these two teams have played each other while ranked in the top 25 since 2012. Clearly, this was a driving force in the aggressive energy that filled the arena. In the first quarter, the fouls were almost getting out of hand on both sides.
• The second quarter went Penn State’s way, there’s no argument. It outscored Ohio State 24-14, producing a quality lead. The Lady Lions shot 56.3% in the second quarter alone, and Marisa was a huge part of this. When shots fall for this team and their defense remains steadfast, it is truly unstoppable. It needs to replicate this in all quarters of the game to put together a win over a ranked opponent.
• Up until her injury, Marisa truly had a stand-out performance. After a sloppy first quarter from both teams, she took charge of the Lady Lions and turned things around for them in the second quarter. The same applied to the fourth quarter, and Marisa once again showed her leadership of this team. Even with the loss and her injury, she tallied 28 points.
• After trailing the majority of the game, the Buckeyes really exploded in the fourth quarter. They carried this energy into overtime play and commanded the extra five minutes of basketball. To Penn State’s dismay, losing key players right at the end gave Ohio State all it needed to seal the deal and come away with its first conference win.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will take on St. Francis University at home on Sunday, December 17. The game will tip-off at 1 p.m. and folks can also catch it on BTN+.