Penn State Women’s Basketball Looks to Right the Ship in Big Ten Tournament

Story posted March 1, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

Entering the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 13 seed, Penn State looks to bounce back from a late-season slump starting with a matchup against No. 12 seed Minnesota.

Penn State ended the regular season on a six-game losing streak with just one of those losses being by single digits.

Finishing the season at 13-16, the Lady Lions only had four conference wins on the season and now look to a bigger stage in the Big Ten Tournament to try and turn things around.

However, the blue and white have failed to do that in recent history, as the Lady Lions have not won a Big Ten Tournament game since the 2017-18 season.

This stretch includes a winless tournament record for Penn State under head coach Carolyn Kieger with her first-ever appearance ending in a 20-point loss to the Golden Gophers.

Senior forward Makenna Marisa ended her freshman campaign in that contest and finished with just five points, it’s safe to say the road ahead would see more personal success for her as she has recently been named an All-Big Ten First Team selection by the media for the second straight season.

Marisa’s scoring average dropped from the prior season sitting at 17.3 points per game but she added 4.2 assists and rebounds per game as well.

That wasn't the only Big Ten honor the Lady Lions earned as redshirt-sophomore guard Leilani Kapinus was named a member of the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

Kapinus boosted her scoring average to 11.1 points per game this season while also adding an impressive 89 steals and 29 blocks on the defensive end.

Those honorees and the rest of the Lady Lions will now look to start the Big Ten Tournament against a Minnesota team they haven’t fared well against in recent years,

Penn State has only won one of the last 11 matchups against the Golden Gophers which includes two losses this season with one of them going into double-overtime back in early December.

Minnesota also ended its season with four conference wins like Penn State and an 11-18 record on the season.

The Golden Gophers are led by a recent Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection in guard Mara Braun who leads the team with 15.3 points per game.

Sophomore forward Alanna Micheaux also provided a big spark for the Golden Gophers with 14.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as she was named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.

Although the Big Ten Tournament is a neutral environment, Minneapolis is the host city for this year's tournament giving an edge to the Golden Gophers.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will take on No. 5 seeded Michigan the next day with the winner of that game playing No. 4 seed Ohio State on Friday.

Logan Bourandas is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.