Penn State women’s basketball (9-7, 3-3 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten) 63-59 Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.
A back-and-forth final quarter turned in the Lady Lions’ favor with clutch late shots and a perfect performance from the foul line.
Despite committing 19 turnovers and shooting 36.7% from the field, the Lady Lions were able to get it done against the Wildcats. Makenna Marisa led the squad with 20 points, seven rebounds, and a perfect 10-for-10 mark from the charity stripe. Leilani Kapinus notched 15 points and a team-high five steals.
How It Happened
The Lady Lions got it going early with Shay Hagans getting an early steal and finding Kapinus for an easy fast-break score. The Wildcats answered with a steal-and-score of their own with Laya Hartman and Veronica Burton making the play. The threes began to fly for both sides, but the lead remained in Penn State’s favor 8-7 despite its five turnovers.
The back-and-forth play continued into the final minutes of the first quarter, but Northwestern separated itself in large part thanks to Burton. During a 9-2 run to end the first quarter, Burton led the way with five points, two steals, and an assist. The Wildcats led by four after the first 15 minutes of action.
Anna Camden sank a corner three to get the Lady Lions back within one possession to begin the second quarter. After a quick bucket from Melannie Daley to answer the three, both teams got cold and went scoreless for three minutes, shooting a combined 0-for-7 from the field.
After a TV timeout midway through the quarter, the Lady Lions started to find their rhythm. Kapinus started a 9-0 run for Penn State that gave them its first lead of the second quarter. Jillian Brown finally ended the run by sinking one deep from beyond the arc. The Wildcats then tied it up thanks to a Courtney Shaw lay-up.
The Lady Lions started the first half very sloppy as they recorded nine turnovers in just the first quarter but bounced back with only two in the second. Penn State also out-rebounded Northwestern, 24-19 in a game that saw four ties and four lead changes through the first half.
The first score of the second half didn’t come until the 7:30-minute mark, when Hartman hit a pull-up jumper to give the Wildcats its first lead of the second half. Burton kept it going for Northwestern as she led a 10-6 run. Penn State’s Ali Brigham scored her second bucket of the game to cool off the Wildcats.
In the final minute of action in the third, Marisa hit a corner three to get the lead back for Penn State. The Lady Lions enter the fourth quarter with a 42-41 advantage.
Hagans grabbed her second steal of the night and scored an easy fast-break lay-up to start the final 10 minutes of play for Penn State. But it was Burton again with the answer to keep things within one. After two free throws from Marisa, Northwestern freshman Caileigh Walsh sank a three to tie the game up, again.
As the clock continued to tick, the teams traded blows. Penn State would take its first two possession lead of the fourth quarter as Brigham began to feast in the paint with back-to-back post lay-ups. The WIldcats responded, with a deep three from Lauryn Satterwhite and a mid-range jumper from Walsh giving Northwestern a two-point lead with just two minutes left to play.
Penn State’s Kelly Jekot tied it back up again with 1:39 to play as she heaved up a prayer as the shot clock expired. With just over a minute left, Kapinus got a steal and fought through contact for a layup, then hitting the free throw to complete the three-point play.
A missed Northwestern three was followed by a Penn State turnover, leading to an easy layup for Shaw to bring the game back to one. The Wildcats quickly fouled Marisa, who sank both free throws to extend the Lady Lion lead back to three.
After a timeout, the Wildcats inbounded the ball to Burton, who got fouled while shooting from three. She made only two of them and Northwestern was forced to foul Marisa ,who sank two clutch free throws to put the Lady Lions up by four with 6.2 seconds left of action. On Northwestern’s next possession, Walsh was fouled in the paint and hit both of her free throws to bring the game back within two. Marisa was fouled again and made both of her free throws to put the game out of reach.
Finally, after a nail-biter of a fourth quarter, Penn State was able to sneak past Northwestern with a 63-59 win.
Takeaways
- Coach Carolyn Kieger showed love to the 2-3 zone in her game plan, and it worked well. The Lady Lions were able to force the Wildcats into some uncomfortable situations, forcing 18 turnovers and allowing Northwestern to shoot only 35.4% from the field.
- Veronica Burton was the best player on the court. She totaled 16 points and five steals while also shooting 40% from downtown. When the Wildcats needed an extra push, Burton was there to deliver.
- This game was messy for the Lady Lions. They looked sloppy from the start, and it didn’t get too much better after that. They ended up compiling 19 turnovers and shooting 36.7% from the field. But hey, a win is a win.
What’s Next?
The Lady Lions stay on the road to take on Wisconsin at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday their seventh Big Ten matchup of the year.
