Penn State Women’s Basketball Weekly Preview: Two Themed Games Against Two Conference Opponents

Story posted January 31, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Amanda Vogt

The Lady Lions return home to the Bryce Jordan Center after dropping two games on the road to Rutgers and No. 8 Maryland.

In the conference portion of the season, the blue and white have struggled with a record of 3-8.

Penn State initially started off the season strong 7-0, but that streak was snapped when it faced Virginia as a part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Ever since, the Lady Lions went 5-10 including losses in all seven of their road games.

Although at the BJC, they have experienced more success with a record of 10-3.

Thursday, the blue and white will face Northwestern in celebrating National Women in Sports Day. This could be an opportunity for Penn State to add to its win column.

The Wildcats enter Happy Valley on a two-game win streak after a convincing victory against Chicago State and a narrow win over Wisconsin.

Like Penn State, Northwestern has struggled in the conference considering the only Big Ten opponent its beaten was the Badgers a few days ago.

Although their success has been limited this season, Caileigh Walsh leads in scoring for the Wildcats with 258 points. In the past two games, the sophomore put up nearly 20 points in each.

Graduate student Sydney Wood also has strong numbers on the year, and junior Paige Mott is coming off a 23-point performance.

The Wildcats will have to watch out for the Nittany Lions because of how versatile their team is. Makenna Marisa currently averages 18.1 points per game and is a great playmaker.

Taniyah Thompson recently scored a career-best 27 points against Wisconsin and is making a more prominent presence on the court.

If the Lady Lions can rack up points early, they have the potential to starve the Wildcats.

On Sunday, the blue and white will have a tough test against a ranked Iowa team. The BJC will be decked out in pink for the game as a part of PA Pink Zone and Alumni Day.

The Hawkeyes are soaring on a six-game win streak as they near the end of the regular season. In the conference, they have only one loss to Illinois.

Iowa averages 87.3 points per game whereas Penn State only averages 73.7 points per game.

The black and gold’s leading scorer is junior guard Caitlin Clark averaging 27.1 per game. The blue and white will have to limit the amount of time the ball spends in her hands when trying to hold off the Hawkeyes’ attack.

To Penn State’s credit, its defense has been strong. Leilani Kapinus leads the Big Ten in steals averaging 3.4 a game.

At times, the blue and white might need to rely on a strong defensive performance to keep them in the game. If they let Iowa get too hot of a start, it might be over quickly for the Lady Lions.

Amanda Vogt is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email her at aev5215@psu.edu.