Game Grades: Penn State Women’s Basketball vs. West Virginia

Story posted December 12, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Micheal Bolger

The Lady Lions bounced back in a 69-57 win over West Virginia, after losing a tough one to No. 4 Indiana.

The blue and white grabbed their first win of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and improve to 8-3 on the season.

Offense: B+

Penn State started the game off slow on offense, having one of the worst scoring quarters of the year so far. The Lady Lions went 4-for-14 from the field and 5-for-7 from the foul line while turning the ball over four times.

Just like previous games, Penn State got hot after the opening quarter and played its best quarter of the game, putting up 26 points in 15 minutes. The Lady Lions were able to distribute the ball evenly throughout the second quarter and had four players with five points or more.

Coming out of half, Shay Ciezki, Leilani Kapinus and Taniya Thompson drove the offense in the final half of the game, combining for 21 points out of Penn State's 30. The Lady Lions would end the game making 49% of their shots, 41% of their three pointers and 63% from the charity line.

Kapinus now has three straight games with double digit points while leading the team in points and rebounds on the day.

Defense: B+

The defense looked rattled at the beginning of the game, giving up eight straight points in the opening minutes to the Mountaineers. They finally settled in and locked down until the middle of the second quarter where they allowed West Virginia to go on a 14-2 run.

Luckily for the Lady Lions' defense, the offense was on fire before and after half to keep the score close. Entering the final quarter of regulation, the defense locked down the Mountaineers’ offense and forced them into a 7:43 minute scoring drought.

West Virginia scored only 10 points to end the game, going 0-for-10 on its last 10 shots from the field. Penn State ends the day with seven blocks, eight steals and 29 defensive rebounds that propelled the blue and white to a home victory.

Kapinus continues to show out in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, forcing three turnovers on the day and creating four points off the turnovers.

Coaching: C+

While a win is a win, the Lady Lions still got off to a slow start and struggled on defense. The Mountaineers looked unstoppable sometimes on offense no matter what defense coach Carolyn Kieger threw at them.

Penn State is now ninth in the Big Ten, sitting at 8-3 with an 0-2 conference record and a 6-2 home record.

This is the Lady Lions’ second road game of the season and will look to improve their 0-1 road record on Sunday when they face the Drexel Dragons at 2 p.m.


Micheal Bolger is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.