Penn State women’s basketball (8-3, 0-1 Big Ten) defeated St. Francis (1-10) in dominant fashion winning 119-43. After losing back-to-back games versus West Virginia and No. 12 Ohio State and dropping out of the AP Top 25 rankings, the Lady Lions got back on track with a commanding 76-point victory over the Red Flash. Those 76 points marked the largest margin of victory in program history.

Leilani Kapinus and Moriah Murray led the way for the Lady Lions both drilling three three-pointers and dropping 25 and 18 points respectively. Shay Ciezki added three triples of her own dropping 15 points while Ali Brigham totaled a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

How It Happened

After her injury in the previous game versus Ohio State, Penn State’s leading scorer Makenna Marisa was ruled out for the contest, missing her first game of the season.

The Lady Lions won the jump, and right away the scoring was prominent even without Marisa. After trading layups to start the game, Kapinus drilled a long three-pointer for her first of the game. St. Francis got another layup to cut it back down to a one-point game.

The threes kept on rolling for Penn State as Kapinus and Jayla Oden drilled back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. Kylie Lavelle kept the scoring going drilling her second-chance shot and Chanaya Pinto made her first shot to make it an 11-point game heading into a media timeout.

Out of the break, Yanessa Boyd got a much-needed layup for the Red Flash, however, it didn’t take long for the Lady Lions to answer. Brigham made her first bucket of the game and on the next possession, Kapinus sniped her third three-pointer of the game.

Boyd made another shot after the three by Kapinus, but Taylor Valladay was fouled on her layup and picked up the and-one and made the could shot. As the first quarter was winding down, St. Francis got a small run going with Kameryn Dorsey and Marissa Shelton making a mid-range jumper and three respectively. However, with 11 seconds left, Ciezki drilled a three for her first make of the game to go up 28-15 after the first 10 minutes.

Ciezki kept the hot hand rolling, drilling back-to-back threes to open the second quarter, and Brigham followed that up with a mid-range jumper that caused St. Francis to call a timeout.

IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING! @shay_ciezki with ANOTHER THREE

8:16 2nd | 36-15 Penn State#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/L39xkVeWU7

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 17, 2023

After the timeout, the scoring by the Lady Lions didn’t stop with Lavelle, Valladay, and Brigham making three consecutive layups. After a 17-0 run for Penn State, Destini Ward finally made a shot for the Red Flash and Kendall Carruthers followed it with a long three-pointer.

While the small run was good for St. Francis, the Lady Lions went on another big run of their own, highlighted by a long three from Oden and two big threes from Murray.

CONSIDER IT SUNK. 3⃣ FOR @murray_moriah!#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/LPI9kiWK2p

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 17, 2023

Now up 35, the hot second quarter by Murray continued with another make on a mid-range jumper and another three-pointer. After a couple of free throws, Brigham made another layup with just over 30 seconds to go in the half to make it a 43-point game, as Penn State ended the first half up 67-24.

At the start of the second half the Red Flash got two threes from Boyd and Ward. Ciezki drilled a tough layup picked up the foul call and made the free throw to get into double-digit points on the day. on the ensuing defensive position, Kapinus picked Dorsey’s pocket and went coast-to-coast for a layup.

The offensive runs just kept on coming for Penn State with Grace Hall making shots on back-to-back possessions and Oden adding to her total with another three.

SLAY, JAY! @JaylaOden is the FOURTH Lady Lion to hit 3⃣ from 3⃣ today

4:05 3rd | 83-35 Penn State#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/BVZQ5SeteV

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 17, 2023

Brigham and Ciezki both continued their big day with each of them making layups, as Penn State took an 89-36 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions continued their dominant performance. Kapinus and Valladay kept the scoring going with layups on three consecutive possessions. Murray was fouled and drilled two free throws to score 100 points for the second time this season. With under three minutes to go in the game, Oden went on five-point of her own, before Kapius scored back-to-back layups.

As the final minute was winding down Hall, scored another layup and Kapinus drilled two free throws to make it 119-43. That score remained the final as Penn State would win by 76 points by far the largest win of the year for the Lady Lions.

Takeaways

• Even with the loss of Marisa, the scoring continued to shine in the blowout win for the Lady Lions with their second 100-point performance of the season. Six Lady Lions recorded double-digit points and the team shot 12-31 from beyond the arc.
• Murray had a day. With the loss of Marisa, a new scorer would need to step up for the Lady Lions and Murray answered that call. After not scoring in the first quarter Murray dropped 14 points in the second quarter, drilling three threes. Murray finished with 18 points total with five assists.
• Leading the Lady Lions in scoring, however, was Kapinus who led the team in scoring with 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting. She also added a team-high five steals in the win.
• It’s the second double-double of the season for Brigham who totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds in the big win. With the loss of Marisa, the forward will be looked upon to help lead this team until she can return.
• Seventy-six points was the largest margin of victory in program history for the Lady Lions in a season when they had already challenged that record on a few occasions. This might just be the best team in program history.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will stay at home and take on Central Connecticut State on Wednesday, December 20. The game is set to tipoff at 11:30 a.m. and can be seen on BTN+.