March is upon us, and the turn in the calendar usually means college basketball is reaching its peak. For Big Ten women’s basketball, the conference tournament begins Wednesday evening, with seeds 11-13 tipping off in Minneapolis.
Penn State finished the regular season with an 18-11 record (9-9 in league play). It holds the seventh seed in this year’s Big Ten Tournament and will face the 10-seed Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday evening. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals and play Caitlin Clark’s 2-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes.
Two Lady Lions who have helped lead Penn State all season are [autotag]Shay Ciezki[/autotag] and [autotag]Leilani Kapinus[/autotag].
Ciezki has been a reliable 3-point threat for Penn State. With 70 made three-pointers, she ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 38th nationally in made three-pointers. Her 39.1 clip beyond the arc ranks her sixth in the conference and 43rd nationally, and her 2.41 per game ranking is fourth in the conference and 46th in the nation.
Kapinus’s defense has been a bright spot for the Lady Lions, as she consistently rattles opposing ball handlers. She ranks second in the Big Ten with 62 steals and in steals per game, grabbing 2.14. As a team, Penn State’s defense forces 18.83 turnovers per game, second in the conference and 46th in the country.
Penn State’s calling card is its ability to generate turnovers of ball pressure and high-powered, efficient offense. Their offense ranks sixth in the nation and third in the conference in field goal percentage (49.5), with a nation’s seventh-best 84.4 points per game. They can also stripe it from deep and are fifth in the country in three-point percentage and second in the Big Ten, shooting 38.6%. They also rank 13th nationally and third in the conference in three-pointers per game with nine.
When the Badgers and the Lady Lions faced each other earlier this season, Wisconsin got the better of Penn State, and Badger forward Serah Williams was a huge reason why. Williams scored 31 points on 11-15 shooting. Williams is a bonafide two-way force, having just received the accolade of Defensive Player of the Year. She is the fourth leading scorer in the Big Ten, putting the Penn State frontcourt in a pivotal position to slow her down Thursday night.
Penn State’s defense on Williams and ability to hit from deep will decide the outcome of Thursday’s contest.
Here is how to catch Penn State’s women’s basketball opening game of the Big Ten Tournament against the Wisconsin Badgers from Minneapolis.
Penn State vs. Wisconsin Women’s Basketball
- Date: Thursday, March 7
- Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
- Channel: Big Ten Network
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)