Penn State fans welcomed new Lady Lions head coach Tanisha Wright with open arms in her first game at the helm Monday, despite a loss to Cleveland State.

The stands were full of T-shirts about the head coach’s return, signs welcoming her back, and fans in her Penn State jersey. That energy carried into the Lady Lions’ game, boosting them through a rough first half.

“Obviously, we’ve talked about this on and on about the support that we’re going to need from our fans through the ups, through the downs, and so it was really cool to see so many familiar faces out there in that crowd supporting,” Wright said after the game. “So excited for them and for our team.”

Monday’s season opener was a chance to celebrate Wright’s return. Instead, a loss to Cleveland State left Wright discussing the growing pains of a new team and the work still needed.

The Lady Lions shot just 31% from the field and 22% from 3-point range. Penn State still had opportunities late, but couldn’t turn Wright’s debut into a victory.

“Obviously disappointed with the outcome,” Wright said. “Lots, lots, and lots of growth for us, and a lot of work for us to do moving forward.”

After the game, Wright thanked the fans, particularly the students, for showing up.

She emphasized that the program would need the fans’ support through both the successful stretches and the difficult ones. Her first game tested that patience early.

On the court, the shooting struggles made it difficult for Penn State to find consistency. Wright liked her players’ confidence in taking shots, but wanted them to work harder for better opportunities when outside attempts weren’t falling.

“I thought we could have worked the ball a little bit more, moved the ball, been patient a couple times, and maybe try to get easier shots at times,” Wright said.

She described the decision-making as part of a new team learning about itself. Foul trouble added another complication, keeping Devyn Quigley and Enjulina Gonzalez off the floor for stretches.

Wright credited sophomore Ava Black with helping keep Penn State afloat and Skylar Durley with attacking Cleveland State’s zone when the offense went cold.

Those contributions offered encouragement, even as the Lady Lions struggled to put everything together in the season opener.

The final possessions brought further frustration. Wright called consecutive timeouts after finding her team insufficiently organized coming out of the first. A separate inbound opportunity ended in a five-second violation as Penn State looked for the tying 3-point shot.

“We as a team just have to be more alert in those situations,” Wright said.

Wright didn’t frame the opener as a lesson just for her players. She included herself in that learning process, acknowledging that her first night on the sideline brought takeaways for her, too.

The loss wasn’t the ending Wright or the supporters wanted. Still, she left her debut confident that the team could improve, with a message that reached beyond one difficult shooting night.

“Who we are today won’t be who we are in December,” she said.

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