Penn State women’s basketball (9-5, 0-2 Big Ten) fell to Michigan State (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) 98-87, losing its second consecutive conference game of the season. Turnovers put the Lady Lions in a hole they were unable to dig themselves out of as Carolyn Kieger’s squad failed to mount a comeback.

Tay Valladay balled out, dropping a career-high 32 points and adding four assists. Shay Ciezki contributed 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists, however, it wasn’t; enough to stop the Spartans who handed the Lady Lions their fourth loss of the year.

How It Happened

Star guard Makenna Marisa was out for her third consecutive game with a lower-body injury. In her place was Tay Valladay, who scored a pair of free throws to kick off the scoring for the Lady Lions.

The Spartans responded quickly with a long three on the other end, however, Shay Ciezki, coming off her career-high 40-point performance against Central Connecticut, drilled her first three-pointer of the game.

Shay doing Shay things THREE for @shay_ciezki#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/4hjtf80RBr

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 30, 2023

Valladay and Abbey Kimball traded a pair of free throws before Leilani Kapinus kept the scoring going for Penn State with a nice layup. Kimball answered for Michigan State with a long three, but on the other end of the floor, Ali Brigham knocked down her first shot of the game.

Back-to-back layups from Julia Ayrault and Theryn Hallock gave the Spartans the lead with just over five minutes to go in the quarter. After a media timeout, Kapinus scored a tough layup for the lead once again.

The lead didn’t last long as Hallock was fouled by Kapinus and nailed both free throws and Moira Joiner sniped her first three of the game to make it a four-point lead. Valladay made a tough layup to get a big basket for the Lady Lions.

With just over a minute to go in the first quarter, Brigham finally got a bucket for Penn State with a contested layup to cut the deficit to four. As the final seconds of the quarter were ticking down, Hallock drilled a driving layup to beat the buzzer to make it 23-17 Michigan State after the first 10 minutes.

Like the first quarter, Valladay opened the scoring in the second quarter with a layup. Jocelyn Tate drilled a three, but Valladay answered her back with a three of her own. The three-point party continued for the Spartans as Lauren Ross nailed her first of the game.

Ciezki followed up the three with a tough layup, however, after that bucket, Michigan State went a run to make it a double-digit lead. In just over 20 seconds, a second-chance layup by Hallock and two pull-up jumpers by Joiner made it 35-24 Spartans.

After a timeout by Carolyn Kieger, the Lady Lions needed buckets to get back into the game. Jayla Oden got the run started with a make, however, Tory Ozment answered with a layup of her own. Valladay drilled back-to-back layups and a Brigham layup off a turnover made it a six-point game. Hallock ended the run after getting an and-one layup and free throw to put the Spartans back up nine.

With less than five minutes to go in the half, both teams went on a two-minute back-and-forth scoring run, answering the other on every offensive possession. Joiner and Brigham traded layups, then Ciezki and Ayrault each scored five straight. Kimball and Valladay both traded layups of their own before Tate and Moriah Murray made shots to finally end the runs.

Kapinus drilled a jumper but was answered by a long three from Deedee Hagemann. As the final minute was ticking down, Brigham and Hallock traded layups as the Spartans went into the half up 57-47.

At the start of the second half, Michigan State kept the lockdown defense going, grabbing another two steals and turning them into back-to-back buckets. The Lady Lions finally got their scoring going with a corner jumper by Alli Campbell and a layup by Valladay, although Ayrault answered back with a layup of her own.

Kapinus got a huge and-one layup and free throw, however, Michigan State wouldn’t let the Nittany Lions get back in the game as Hagemann drilled another three. Fresh into the game, Chanaya Pinto drilled her first three-pointer, but Ayrault continued her fantastic game with an and-one layup and free throw of her own.

After Valladay made one of two free throws, Oden’s fastbreak layup finally got the game back to single digits with the Lady Lions down nine.

SHAY → JAY #LionMentality | @shay_ciezki @JaylaOden pic.twitter.com/bhkBvJto2Z

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 30, 2023

Back-to-back layups by Kapinus and Oden made it 69-64 Michigan State. After not scoring for over two minutes, Kimball finally got a shot in for the Spartans with a long three, however, Valladay drilled a mid-range jumper to make it a six-point game heading into the final quarter.

As the final 10 minutes of the game were underway, both teams were unable to hit a shot. Both teams went over four minutes without making a bucket before Joiner finally ended that with a mid-range jumper. Brigham answered on the other end, however, on the ensuing possession Hallock made a tough layup.

Pinto went one for two on free throws to make it a seven-point game, but Ozment drilled a long three on the other end to put the Spartans back up 10. Things went from bad to worse for the Lady Lions, and after a missed shot from Pinto, Ayrault got an and-one layup and free throw to make it 82-69 Michigan State.

The Lady Lions got a pair of free throws from Brigham, but the Spartans continued making shot after shot. Pinto and Ozment traded layups and Valladay drained a pair of free throws to make it a 14-point game with just over three minutes to play.

Ozment continued her scoring run with another bucket and Ciezki drained a pair of free throws, however, Hagemann drilled another layup. Valladay scored back-to-back shots which brought the game to 11 points, however, the Spartans continued to hit their free throws, and the Lady Lions were defeated 98-87.

Takeaways

• Starting once again for Makenna Marisa, Tay Valladay had one of the best games of her career. She totaled a career-high 32 points in the loss, shooting 11-13 from the field. While it wasn’t enough for the win, the Lady Lions have gotten great play out of the guard since Marisa has been unavailable with her injury.
• It was an ugly one for the Lady Lions who were unable to mount a comeback after going down big in the first half. Turnovers were once again the key issue in the squad’s loss as it totaled 17 in the game. It was the fifth time this season Penn State’s totaled 20 or more turnovers.
• Shay Ciezki was the do-it-all player once again for the Lady Lions as she continues to have an outstanding season. The second-year guard dropped 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists as she continued to try to fill the void of star player Marisa.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will stay at home and take on the Northwestern Wildcats. The game is set to tip off at the Bryce Jordan Center at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2, and can be streamed on BTN+.