Tag: Penn State women’s Basketball

Furious comeback comes up short as Penn State Lady Lions fall to Villanova in WBIT semifinal

The Penn State women’s basketball team saw its season end with a hard-fought loss to Villanova in the WBIT semifinal round.

Despite a heroic effort by [autotag]Leilani Kapinus[/autotag], Penn State was unable to keep its women’s basketball season going for one more game. The Lady Lions fell to Villanova in a seminal matchup in the Women’s Basketball Invitational tournament in Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon. Penn State’s 58-53 loss to the Wildcats brought a tough ending to a season in which the program took some big steps forward overall.

Kapinus led the Lady Lions with 18 points in a defensive battle with Villanova. The Wildcats had three players score in double figures for a much more balanced offensive attack, led by a 21-point effort by Lucy Olsen. Kapinus nearly brought Penn State all the way back in the fourth quarter alone, but she received a helping hand from [autotag]Ashley Owusu[/autotag] as well. Owusu hit a three-point shot with five seconds remaining in the game to bring the Nittany Lions to within three points.

Villanova outscored Penn State by one point in each of the first two quarters of the semifinal matchup to hold a two-point lead at halftime. The Wildcats created some separation after halftime with a 17-9 advantage on the scoreboard in the third quarter. Penn State chipped away in the fourth quarter and outscored Villanova by five points, but it was just enough of a hole that was too big to climb out of for the Lady Lions.

Penn State’s season ends with a 22-13 record, an improvement of 8 wins from the previous season. ending the season with a loss will be tough to take, but the Lady Lions have improved their win total each of the last few seasons and the program does appear to be heading in a positive direction once again, which should bring some sense of optimism for the 2024-25 season.

Villanova will now get a chance to play for the first WBIT championship in NCAA history. The Wildcats will face the winner of Monday’s other semifinal matchup between Illinois and Washington State. The WBIT championship will be played on Wednesday evening. There is no third-place game.

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NCAA WBIT Tournament: Broadcast and stream info for Penn State vs. Mississippi State

No. 1 Penn State takes on Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the WBIT.

The Penn State Lady Lions have advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA WBIT after defeating Belmont 74-66. Junior guard [autotag]Leilani Kapinus[/autotag] scored her 1,000th career point, and [autotag]Makenna Marisa[/autotag] led the Lady Lion offense with 18 points. This Thursday, both players will be needed when Penn State takes on Mississippi State at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Bulldogs finished seventh in the SEC with an 8-8 conference record, but they boast two 14+ point per game scorers in JerKaila Jordan and Jessika Carter.

The Lady Lions, on the other hand, offer up five double-digit scorers led by grad transfer [autotag]Ashley Owusu[/autotag] with 17.7 points per game. Penn State is 14-4 at home and will look to continue that success Thursday evening against Mississippi State.

A win would put the Lady Lions into the WBIT semifinals and book them a trip to Indianapolis. On April 1, they would take on the winner of No. 1 Villanova and Saint Joseph’s.

Penn State vs. Mississippi State Women’s Basketball

  • Date: Thursday, March 28
  • Time: 6 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN+
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

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Penn State Lady Lions advance in WBIT with win over Belmont

The Penn State Lady Lions are moving on to the quarterfinals of the WBIT after a win on Monday night.

The women’s college basketball season will continue with one final home game for the Penn State Lady Lions. Penn State prevailed over Belmont by a score of 74-66 on Monday evening in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Penn State trailed Belmont by three points at halftime but turned in a strong third quarter to take the lead and held off Belmont in the fourth quarter for the win. [autotag]Makenna Marissa[/autotag] led the Lady Lions with 18 points and [autotag]Ashley Owusu[/autotag] added 16 points. [autotag]Leilani Kapinus[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayla Oden[/autotag] each scored in double figures as well with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kapinus led the team with 7 rebounds.

Penn State will now host Mississippi State in the quarterfinal round of the WBIT on Thursday evening. A victory over the SEC program would send Penn State to Indianapolis for the semifinal of the postseason tournament. The winner of the Penn State-Mississippi State game will meet the winner of Thursday night’s matchup between Villanova and Saint Joseph’s on Monday, April 1.

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Lady Wins win WNIT opener in overtime vs. George Mason

Penn State Lady Lions advance to the second round of the WNIT after a come-from-behind overtime victory.

The Penn State women’s basketball team will see its season continue following Thursday night’s overtime victory over George Mason in the first round of the WNIT. Penn State won the first-round matchup by a final score of 84-80 to advance into the second round of the inaugural WNIT.

Penn State needed a furious fourth-quarter rally after falling behind by as many as 12 points in the final quarter of regulation. [autotag]Leilani Kapinus[/autotag] capped the fourth-quarter comeback with a pair of free throws to tie the game at  70-70 in the final seconds to highlight her double-double in the game. It was her fourth double-double of the season.

Penn State took control in overtime with [autotag]Ashley Owusu[/autotag] helping set the tone on a night she scored 20 points to lead the team. Strong defense and clutch free throw shooting helped keep Penn State on top in overtime and allowed Penn State to move on to the second round.

Penn State will now prepare to face Belmont in the second round of the WNIT. The Lady Lions will host Belmont on Monday evening at 6 p.m. ET in the Bryce Jordan Center.

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NCAA WBIT Tournament: Broadcast and stream info for Penn State vs. George Mason

No. 1 Penn State takes on George Mason in the opening round of the WBIT

For the Penn State Lady Lions, it’s not the NCAA Tournament but postseason basketball. After a successful regular season with the best record since the 2016-17 season, Penn State was one of the first teams out of the NCAA Tournament to take on the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.

Penn State will host George Mason on Thursday, March 21. The Patriots finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 conference with a 14-4 record and lost to No. 5 Duquesne in the A10 Tournament about ten days ago. George Mason is led by senior guard Sonia Smith, who averages 15.2 points per game.

Penn State is one of four No. 1 seeds in the tournament, joining James Madison, Villanova, and Washington State. The Lady Lions’ scoring leader is grad transfer [autotag]Ashley Owusu[/autotag], averaging 17.7 points per game. Forward [autotag]Makenna Marisa[/autotag] drops 13.3 ppg while shooting 38% from the 3-point line.

As a team, Penn State shoots 49% from the field and 37.5% from the 3-point line, while George Mason only shoots 39% from the field. On paper, this matchup sets up nicely for the Lady Lions, who own a tremendous offense, but it is March, and anything can happen.

Should Penn State take down the Patriots, they will host the second-round matchup against the Ball State and Belmont winner. If Penn State makes it to the Final Four of this tournament, it will head to Indianapolis for the semifinals (and potentially the finals) to be played in Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Penn State vs. George Mason Women’s Basketball

  • Date: Thursday, March 21
  • Time: 6 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN+
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

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Penn State Lady Lions receive no. 1 seed in new WBIT

Lady Lions are one of the four no. 1 seeds in a brand new NCAA postseason basketball tournament.

While it may not have been the ultimate goal for the Penn State women’s basketball team, the Lady Lions are playing in the postseason this year. Penn State was selected to be the top seed in this year’s Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament and will host George Mason in the first round.

Penn State was not selected to play as an at-large team in this year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament following their blowout loss to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament. Penn State was also passed over for a spot in the women’s NIT. So instead, the postseason will continue as the Lady Lions participate in the first-ever WBIT.

The WBIT is sponsored by the NCAA and teams hosting games will not have to foot the bill as they did in the past with the women’s NIT. Penn State is one of four no. 1 seeds in the tournament, joining James Madison, Villanova, and Washington State. Miami was slated to be a no. 1 seed but declined the invitation (James Madison took its place). In all, there are 32 teams in the WBIT. The top 16 teams were seeded by overall performance from the regular season and the remaining 16 teams were placed based on geography as the primary factor. Illinois is the only other Big Ten team in the WBIT this year.

Penn State will host George Mason on Thursday, March 21. Should Penn State win, they will then host the second-round matchup against the winner of a game between Ball State and Belmont. If Penn State should make it to the Final Four of this tournament, they will head to Indianapolis for the semifinals (and potentially the finals) to be played in Hinkle Fieldhouse. If the no. 1 seeds hold, Penn State would face Villanova in the Final Four of the WBIT.

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2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Tracker: Full schedule, all results, updated bracket

Our Big Ten women’s basketball tournament tracker is live with updated matchups, TV times, betting odds, bracket and more.

The Big Ten women’s basketball tournament is now set with the conclusion of the regular season now behind us. Ohio State claimed the top spot in the final Big Ten standings and will own the top seed in the women’s basketball tournament while Iowa and Caitlin Clark are looking to capture a third consecutive Big Ten tournament championship in a final push for a no. 1 seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

This year’s Big Ten women’s basketball tournament will take place in the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota for a second straight year (the same venue will host next week’s Big Ten men’s basketball tournament as well). Games throughout the tournament will be aired on the Peacock streaming platform, Big Ten Network or CBS and Paramount+.

Here is a look at the full bracket.

We will be keeping track of the results and updated betting lines as the tournament plays out with our Big Ten women’s basketball tournament tracker. This will be updated throughout the Big Ten tournament so be sure to bookmark this link for future reference.

All times are Eastern.

ESPN bracketology update not favorable to Lady Lions after loss to Iowa

The latest ESPN women’s basketball bracketology update may have just burst Penn State’s bubble.

There may not be any shame in losing to Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament, but the manner in which the Penn State Lady Lions were ousted by the Hawkeyes may have been enough to pop Penn State’s NCAA tournament bubble.

ESPN women’s basketball bracketology update from Charlie Creme, which was updated on Saturday morning the day after Penn State’s lopsided Big Ten quarterfinal loss at the hands of Iowa, moved Penn State from being the last team in the tournament to among the first four out. With selection day still a week away, there could be some help for Penn State to come out of the remaining conference tournaments going on around the country, although this latest bracketology update does not appear to see much help being made available for the Lady Lions and their NCAA tournament hopes.

The last four teams in, according to Creme’s bracket update, are all from the SEC (Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State) or the Pac-12 (Arizona), and all of those conference tournaments fell in sync with the Big Ten tournament.

There is also one other team ahead of Penn State among the first four teams out, which is Green Bay. Green Bay is the no. 2 seed in the Horizon League tournament and is scheduled to play in the conference tournament’s semifinal game on Monday. A win would send Green Bay to the Horizon League championship game, which could lead to an automatic berth. But even if Green Bay captures an automatic bid, Penn State would likely still have to climb in front of the Horizon League’s top seed, Cleveland State, to get in. Cleveland State is sitting on a 13-seed in Creme’s latest bracket forecast.

Penn State was eliminated from the Big Ten conference championship tournament by Iowa with a 95-62 loss. The lopsidedness of the final score is pretty damaging, especially for a team that went on an untimely 2-6 skid at the end of the regular season leading into the Big Ten tournament. Penn State beating Iowa likely would have helped Penn State gain a stronger foot inside the NCAA tournament, and a respectable loss could have been enough to keep them a bit more in the mix. But a 33-point loss is tough to overcome in the final game of a season.

But the fate is in the hands of the NCAA selection committee now. We will find out in a week whether or not time can heal enough wounds for the Lady Lions and keep NCAA tournament hopes alive or if the NIT may be the more likely destination.

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Penn State eliminated in Big Ten women’s basketball tournament by Iowa (photos)

Caitlin Clark added to her historic college basketball career accolades as she helped Iowa cruise past Penn State.

Iowa women’s basketball icon Caitlin Clark may not have been at her very best on Friday evening against Penn State, but the Lady Lions were still unable to knock off Clark and the Hawkeyes to keep hopes of a Big Ten title alive. Penn State fell behind early and saw the game fall farther out of reach in the fourth quarter of a 95-62 loss in the Big Ten women’s basketball quarterfinal in Minneapolis that puts Penn State’s NCAA tournament hopes on thin ice.

Clark became college basketball’s all-time leading scorers in Iowa’s regular-season finale but added another career achievement to her bio against Penn State. Clark set the 3-point record with a pair of three-pointers to pass Steph Curry for the Division 1 record for most three-pointers in a single season (men or women; Clark now sits at 164 and Curry’s record stood at 162).

Penn State will sit and wait for the NCAA selection committee to determine their fate now, which means a long week of sitting and waiting and simply hoping for the best. Penn State had been a team riding on the bubble and was the last team in according to a recent update to ESPN’s women’s basketball bracketology. How this setback will impact their fate remains to be seen.

Here are some of the best photos from the game.

Lady Lions no match for Caitlin Clark and Iowa in Big Ten tournament

Penn State gets off to slow start vs. Iowa and Caitlin Clark and can not recover in Big Ten women’s basketball tournament loss.

There is no shame to be had in losing to one of the best players in women’s college basketball, but that doesn’t take the sting out of a tough end to its Big Ten tournament run for the Penn State Lady Lions. Penn State got off to a slow start against Iowa in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Friday night, with Iowa’s star player Caitlin Clark leading the way with 25 points.

Penn State fell behind in the first quarter by a score of 31-13 and was unable to climb out of the hole. The Hawkeyes put the game on ice in the fourth quarter with another 30-point outburst in the quarter to pull away for a 95-62 victory over the Lady Lions.

Leilani Kapinus led Penn State with 19 points and 5 rebounds and Ashley Owusu added 18 points and 6 rebounds in the losing effort. Iowa’s Clark posted 25 points and 10 rebounds with 7 assists to help Iowa advance to the Big Ten semifinals. With the Big Ten top seed Ohio State being upset by Maryland on Friday, the Hawkeyes are the clear favorite to capture the Big Ten tournament championship for a second consecutive season with Clark leading the way.

Penn State was burned from three-point range by the Hawkeyes. Iowa hit 15 three-pointers in the game and drained 26 of 30 free throw attempts. Penn State went to the free throw line just 9 times and hit just 7 of 33 attempts from three-point range.

The fate of the season and whether or not Penn State will play in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament now lies in the hands of the NCAA selection committee. The committee will determine the field for this year’s women’s basketball tournament on Sunday, March 17. Penn State was the last team to get in the tournament according to Charlie Creme of ESPN in his latest bracketology update. Penn State will be keeping a watchful eye on the developments in the rest of the conference tournament action leading up to Selection Sunday.

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