UNIVERSITY PARK — It’s been a rough year for Penn State wing forward Kelly Jekot coming off her injury, but she put it behind her to help her Lady Lion women’s basketball team overcome a rough stretch of its own.
Jekot made four 3-pointers as Penn State snapped an eight-game losing skid with an 83-76 Big Ten Conference win over Nebraska on Thursday, Feb. 17 at Bryce Jordan Center.
The Lady Lions followed that up on Monday, Feb. 21 with their second conference victory of the season, 79-71, at Michigan State. That triumph left Penn State 11-15 overall and 5-11 in the conference with two games left before the Big Ten tournament.
Both Nebraska and Michigan State had beaten the Lady Lions earlier in the year.
“Losing is super frustrating especially after all the hard work we put in every single day at practice, and we do learn in those losses,” Jekot said following the Nebraska win. “The reason why I came back is because we have that chemistry, we have that bond, and I want to do it right. I want to do it for us as a team. Tonight’s win was big for us and propelled us forward.”
Jekot got the start and went 4-for-5 from the field for 13 points as Penn State turned a 13-point deficit late in the second quarter into nine-point lead late in the game. The key was a 15-0 fourth-quarter run.
“I felt the momentum shift,” Jekot said. “I think it was after (Shay Hagans’ back-to-back) and-1 layups when I was like, OK, here we go. I can definitely feel that coming. Then we had a few big shots. I know Maddie Burke stepped up tonight. That was great to see, she’s been working on her shot in a gym almost every single day. Really proud of her for knocking her shots down as well.”
Burke finished with nine points and Hagans eight. Makenna Marisa led Penn State with 22 points and eight assists, with Niya Beverley coming up with 13 points and Anna Camden nine.
For Jekot, it was just her third double-figure scoring performance this season. Her 2020-21 campaign was ended partway through by her knee injury, but she decided to return and reset her final year of college basketball.
“I love this team. The chemistry is awesome. We all love each other. We’re super close,” said Marisa, the Lady Lions’ 5-foot-11 junior point guard. “I want to talk about Kelly Jekot. She hit 4-of-5 tonight and you know her coming back, the whole team is playing for her right now. It’s so inspiring to see her and see her knock down those shots tonight was just amazing. I think the whole team felt it. But those are key shots and she just inspired me, every single day she inspires me, so we like each other.”
It was a 3-pointer by Jekot that answered a bucket that gave the Cornhuskers an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Nebraska later went back up by 13 before Camden’s trey at the 7:25 mark started the rally that turned the game around.
“I’m really, really proud of our team. Obviously, we’ve been battling a lot the last three weeks,” Penn State coach Carolyn Kieger said. “That’s part of the process of growth, right? When you’re trying to take a program to the next level, you know it’s not going to happen overnight. Successes happen only after failures. We all know that, and for them these are life lessons that they’re learning. Things aren’t always going to go your way, you’re not always going to perform the way you want, but you have to keep fighting, you have to keep battling.
“I’ll say this: This team hasn’t given up and they show up every day with a good attitude.”
Penn State shot 60 percent in the fourth quarter, making four of eight 3-pointers. The Lady Lions made 12 3-pointers and complemented that on the defensive end with 13 steals and seven steals to deny Nebraska its 20th win of the season.
The Huskers Alexis Murkowski topped all scorers with 23 points.
Marisa’s fifth 30-point game of the season — a 32-point outburst — powered the Lady Lions over Michigan State.
Marisa, who was 14-for-15 at the foul line, was one of four Lady Lions to reach double figures. Beverley netted 12, Leilani Kapinus 11 and Camden 10.
Penn State jumped out to a 10-point lead through one quarter. The Lady Lions scored 26 fastbreak points and outscored the Spartans 23-3 on turnovers while they held the hosts to 37.7% from the field.
MARISA HONORED BY COSIDA
Marisa also had a big week off the court. She was named academic all-district by CoSIDA, the college association of sports information directors.
An education major, Marisa carries a 3.75 GPA. She’s one of two Division I players to score at least 10 points in every game this season and is averaging 22.8 points.
