No. 1-seeded Penn State women’s basketball (22-12, 9-9 Big Ten) beat No. 3-seeded Mississippi State (23-12, 8-8 SEC) in a back-and-forth battle in the quarterfinal round of the WBIT Thursday night.

Ashley Owusu dropped a team-high 24 points in 26 minutes of action, while Makenna Marisa scored 22 to lead the Lady Lions, who shot 58% from the field on 20 team assists.

How It Happened

For just the fourth time this season, Shay Ciezki came off the bench, and head coach Carolyn Kieger gave the starting nod to Chanaya Pinto instead.

Mississippi State started the ball with the game, but a Jessika Carter airball led to a Pinto layup off a pass from Marisa in transition. On the following possession, Owusu was fouled with 0.6 seconds left on the shot clock and went one-for-two at the line.

Carter grabbed an offensive rebound and immediately scored on the put-back to put the Bulldogs on the board. Marisa scored her first points of the game with a corner three after receiving a bullet pass from a driving Owusu.

Jerkaila Jordan curled off a screen and quickly answered with a midrange jumper to cut the Lady Lions’ lead to 6-4. Debreasha Powe then netted a triple on a possession that came from a Darrione Rogers steal.

Lauren Park-Lane hit a three to extend Mississippi State’s run to 8-0, but Owusu ended it with a free-throw line jumper seconds later. A foul on Leilani Kapinus sent the game to its first media timeout with the Bulldogs up by two, and Jordan made one after the stoppage.

Marisa sliced through the defense into the lane for a layup, which was quickly matched by Mjracle Sheppard’s midrange bucket that created a back-and-forth couple of minutes.

After checking into the game moments before, Ciezki knocked down a short jumper. On the other end, Erynn Barnum drilled a three to get her bench excited. Ciezki then turned it over, and Sheppard won the footrace to the rim for a layup to make it 18-12.

Kylie Lavelle finally ended the run with a turnaround hook shot from a few feet away. Despite a loud “shooter” call from the Mississippi State bench, Alli Campbell hit nothing but net from the corner and cut Penn State’s deficit to one with 1:32 to go in the first quarter.

Marisa made two free throws to put the Lady Lions back on top 21-20 and give them their first lead in over six minutes. Barnum got an offensive rebound and put it back up and in for two, and the Bulldog defense locked down Penn State on its final possession of the quarter, and the high-scoring first 10 minutes ended with Mississippi State up 22-21.

Carter opened the second quarter with a layup after Marisa left a deep three short, but she came back down the floor and rattled in a jump shot from 15 feet away. Kapinus then rejected a Jordan shot attempt, but she caught her own miss and floated it in for two.

Owusu answered with a short shot of her own while Jordan scored again on a fastbreak to make Mississippi State’s lead three. After a few scoreless possessions, Campbell made that lead one with a reverse layup.

You gotta see this absolute BUCKET #LionMentality | @alli_campbell21 pic.twitter.com/hrtY5fT9jE

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) March 28, 2024

Campbell put Penn State back on top 29-28 with a leaning jumper in transition, and Ciezki followed that with a right-wing three to electrify the Bryce Jordan Center and force a Mississippi State timeout.

After the break, Jordan hit a three from the left corner to stop the 7-0 blue and white run. Jayla Oden took in a pass from Moriah Murray, stepped through into the paint, and laid in a finger roll to get Penn State’s lead back to three.

Barnum went one-for-two at the stripe, but Kapinus immediately made a layup off a baseline inbound pass from Owusu. Then, a controversial call out-of-bounds call that gave Mississippi State the ball led to a shooting foul and two Jordan free throws just over two minutes before halftime.

Lavelle somehow found a cutting Marisa for an open layup, and Sheppard quickly answered with one of her own. With 16.5 seconds to go in the first half, Sheppard was whistled for an offensive foul, but Marisa turned it over, leading to Jordan being alone on a fastbreak for an easy layup as time expired, and the fast-paced first half ended with the game tied at 38-38.

Fourteen seconds into the second half, Jordan made two free throws after a Pinto foul, but after a minute went by, Marisa scored on a pull-up jumper. Carter and Brigham traded baskets to make it 42-42, but Carter then put the Bulldogs on top with two free throws.

The Carter takeover continued, as she converted on an and-one to make it seven points for herself in just over a minute. Owusu netted two free throws before Carter put in two more to make the Mississippi State lead 49-44.

Kapinus finished inside, and on the other side, Pinto drew a charging foul against Carter to bring the momentum back to Penn State. Ciezki rifled a mid-air bounce pass to an open Lavelle down low for a layup.

Did y'all see that?! @shay_ciezki → @lavelle_kylie#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/zJVBAj5Lpz

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) March 28, 2024

Quanirah Montague made a layup after a Kapinus turnover, but she redeemed herself with a game-tying and-one five seconds later. With 5:01 left in the third, Pinto fought for an offensive rebound and got fouled by Powe, going two-for-two in her trip to the line and giving the blue and white a 53-51 lead.

After the media timeout, Grace Hall fouled Jordan on an attempt late in the shot clock, and she went one-for-two at the line to bring her point total to 19. Owusu dropped in two free throws, while Jordan scored two more after rebounding her own miss.

Montague put the Bulldogs back in front 56-55 via a pair of foul shots with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter. Jordan put in another close jumper after a Hall turnover, but Oden found Hall on the ensuing possession for a layup.

Jordan made one of two free throws after an offensive rebound while Owusu took it herself and converted on an and-one inside to put the Lady Lions ahead 62-59 late in the quarter.

Owusu walked the ball up with 18 seconds left before swinging the ball around and finding Ciezki on the left wing, who got to the elbow and pulled up, making the jumper as time ticked off the clock, and Penn State entered the fourth quarter with a 64-59 lead.

To begin the final frame, Campbell drilled a left-wing three off an Owusu assist to put her team up by eight. Jordan drove and put in a layup, but Marisa hit a three from the right wing to make it a nine-point lead, the largest of the game.

Forty seconds later, Brigham caught a pass from Marisa in the post, turned, and scored to make it a double-digit advantage. Carter made the same play as soon as the Bulldogs got the ball back to get herself to 15 points on the night.

Owusu then went on a solo 4-0 run, putting the Lady Lions up by 13 before Barnum cut into that with a deep ball, and Penn State called a timeout with 6:17 remaining.

After the break, Mississippi State closed the gap to seven via a Barnum three, and Jordan reached 29 points moments later by making all three free throws after being fouled on a shot from distance. However, Owusu made a long two through a foul moments later for an and-one to regain a seven-point lead.

Carter scored four straight points and made it a one-possession game with three minutes to play. Owusu air-balled a three, but Kapinus sent back Barnum’s layup to set up a Lavelle basket on the other end.

Penn State fans began getting loud, but Carter silenced them with a layup in traffic, and head coach Sam Purcell called a timeout for the Bulldogs with 1:28 left.

With 51.3 ticks on the clock, Owusu danced through the defense and dropped in a floater off one foot through a Carter foul, and she made the free throw to go up 86-80.

FIRED. UP. #LionMentality | @Ashleyyowusu15 pic.twitter.com/IEaIi8wrfa

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) March 28, 2024

Less than 30 seconds later, the Bryce Jordan Center crowd erupted when Kapinus blocked Rogers and took it coast-to-coast for a layup to give the Lady Lions an eight-point lead.

Kapinus rejected another shot with 16 seconds left, which turned into a scuffle on the baseline. After a long review by the officials, Owusu and Park-Lane were ejected, while Hall and Carter were assessed technical fouls.

When action resumed, Marisa was fouled and made two free throws before Jordan got inside for a layup to make the score 90-85 with 7.9 seconds to play. Marisa got fouled and made both again, and while Jordan made a three at the buzzer, Penn State came out on top 92-87.

Takeaways

• Eleven Lady Lions saw action in this game, and 10 of them scored. This offensive variety freed up space on the floor and opened opportunities for many players to get involved with the ball.
• After making three straight Sweet 16 appearances at other schools, Owusu brought her past experience to this postseason environment, scoring 24 points and dishing out four assists.
• Penn State went 23-24 from the free throw line, which proved to be crucial in the game’s closing moments.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions advance to the WBIT semifinals, where they’ll face the winner of Villanova and Saint Joseph’s on Monday, April 1, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.