The Mountaineers Can’t Climb the Challenge of the Lady Lions’ Defense
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women’s basketball (8-3) beat West Virginia (7-2) in a 69-57 victory Sunday night, boosting morale after coming off a three-game losing streak.
Ironically, while the Lady Lions ended their losing streak, they simultaneously snapped the beginning of West Virginia’s winning streak as the Mountaineers had won their previous three matchups.
“Every [win] is valued the same in our book,” Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger said. “This was a quality win for our team.”
The Mountaineers came out roaring with guard JJ Quinerly scoring its first eight points of the game. Yet, it turned into a defensive battle after a very back-and-forth first half. Freshman Shay Ciezki drained back-to-back three-pointers as the second quarter wound down and the Nittany Lions headed into halftime with a 39-31 lead.
The Lady Lions began to pull away near the end of the third quarter with their defense starting to shine, and even as West Virginia was able to ganer up extra possessions, Penn State wouldn’t give them any clear opportunities to shoot.
In fact, the Mountaineers did not score a field goal in the final seven minutes and forty-three seconds of play. Penn State simply focused on defense as the clock ran out, and did not score in the last three minutes.
While two free throws by West Virginia’s Jayla Hemingway cut into Penn State’s lead, it wasn’t enough to edge out the Lady Lions.
Kieger credited a stellar performance by guard Leilani Kapinus to much of the Lady Lions’ success.
“She ignites the defense,” Kieger said. “When she’s locked in defensively, I think everyone just kind of follows her lead.”
Kapinus not only defended the court, but was the lead scorer for Penn State. Although her last point was near the end of the third quarter, she scored 15 points on the night, beating out Ciezki’s 14 points.
The focus on defense wasn’t a coincidence.
“It was our communication that definitely got us the stops,” Ciezki said. “You’re talking nonstop.”
Although defense was the primary component that gave Penn State the win, there was a bigger win that happened quietly.
Senior guard Makenna Marisa may have only scored nine points, but that number was good enough to move her into 17th in career points in program history. While she began the season at 24, Sunday’s win pushed her past Jen Bednarek.
Most of all, Kieger was proud of the team’s shot quality. During scoring droughts, the head coach simply reminded her team to “take great shots.” This advice panned through and the Lady Lions had a field goal percentage of 49%.
Head to head against West Virginia, Penn State improved to 26-6 all-time and 13-1 at University Park.
The Lady Lions have a week until their next game, when they head to Drexel on Dec. 18. The Mountaineers have to wait even longer, until Dec. 20 to play Georgia at home.
Allie Wenskoski is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amw7637@psu.edu.
