On Monday, Penn State women’s basketball took the floor for its first regular-season game at the Bryce Jordan Center against the Cleveland State Vikings. In a heavily contested game, the Lady Lions fell 62-61.

Despite the loss, one player stood out: sophomore guard Ava Black.

Black led the team with 38 minutes on the floor and had 17 points to show for it. She also led the team with four 3-pointers on eight attempts.

“What you saw from Ava is exactly who we thought Ava would be,” head coach Tanisha Wright said.

For Wright and the rest of the coaching staff, Black’s ability to contribute in multiple areas, both on and off the court, has helped the Lady Lions when they need it most.

Wright said Black’s ability to score in transition as well as “make the right reads at the right time” has been really impressive.

“[Ava is] somebody who can do it all, is expected to do it all, and has the ability and talent level to be able to do it,” Wright said.

Black’s abilities were on display as the Lady Lions struggled to score against Cleveland State, finishing with a 31.8% field-goal percentage and shooting 22.2% from outside the arc. Black, who can contribute on both ends, helped create offensive rhythm despite the struggles. 

Black also certainly knows how to win.

The guard spent last season on a Vanderbilt team that lost just five times. While she was not a featured player, Black appeared in 30 games and averaged 2.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.6 assists per game.

Black’s lone season with the Commodores included an appearance in the SEC Tournament and three games in the NCAA Tournament. One of those was a win against her new Big Ten foe, Illinois.

Wright hopes Black can continue to take a leadership role and teach a new-look Penn State team how to win at an elite level. Wright said the season-opening loss has not hurt the Lady Lions’ confidence.

“I have a great group, and one thing they’ve done a great job with is bouncing back, having a bounce-back mentality,” Wright said.

The Lady Lions are back in action on Saturday, November 7, at 2 p.m. as they face Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ for folks to watch from home.

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