Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482664
4 4 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M B ig Ten Network host Mike Hall had barely started talking when Carolyn Kieger cut him off. "If you guys are to win more games this year …" Hall began, teeing up a question during the televised portion of Big Ten Basketball Media Days in mid- October. Kieger couldn't help but interject. "When," she said. "Excuse me, my apologies," Hall con- tinued. "When you win more games …" In the midst of preparing for her fourth season as Penn State's head coach, Kieger was radiating confidence at the league's annual preseason me- dia summit. She predicted that redshirt sophomore guard Leilani Kapinus was on pace to become "the best defender in the country someday." She said that guard Shay Ciezki is "going to be one of the best freshmen in the country this year." She asserted that she was trying to build a dynasty in State College. Some or all of that may eventually come true, but the Lady Lions do have some work ahead of them. They have gotten steadily better throughout Kieg- er's tenure as head coach, winning seven games her first season, nine in her sec- ond and 11 last year, but they've been far from NCAA Tournament contention in any of those three seasons and now are eight years removed from the program's most recent appearance in the national tourney. This year, Penn State is hoping that the return of key holdovers like Kapi- nus, senior guard Makenna Marisa and senior forward Anna Camden, coupled with the arrival of newcomers such as Ciezki and East Carolina transfer Taniya Thompson, will lead to a breakthrough. "We've been making huge strides as a program these last three years," Kieger said. "We believe this is the year we're going to make a big turnaround. As hard as it is to be patient during a rebuild, we know all the adversity we've been through the last three seasons will be a catalyst for our success this year." BACKCOURT A preseason All-Big Ten choice by both the coaches and media, Marisa highlights the guard corps. She averaged 22.2 points per game as a junior, ranking second in the conference behind only Iowa All-American Caitlin Clark. The Lady Lions also return a Big Ten All-Freshman performer in Kapinus. The No. 20 overall prospect in the 2020 class according to ESPN Hoopgurlz, Ka- pinus averaged 9.6 points per game to rank second on the team last year, and she's likely to have at least as big an im- pact on the defensive end this season. Defense was a problem for Penn State a year ago. The Lady Lions gave up a Big Ten-worst 74.9 points per game. Op- 2 0 2 2 - 2 3 W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L S C H E D U L E Date Opponent TV/Time (ET) Nov. 9 NORFOLK STATE 7 p.m. Nov. 11 FAIRFIELD 7 p.m. Nov. 15 YOUNGSTOWN STATE 7 p.m. Nov. 18 BRYANT 7 p.m. Nov. 21 SYRACUSE 7 p.m. Nov. 25 Toledo* 1:15 p.m. Nov. 26 Fresno State* 11 a.m. Nov. 30 VIRGINIA** 7 p.m.** Dec. 3 at Minnesota TBA (BTN) Dec. 8 INDIANA 7 p.m. Dec. 11 WEST VIRGINIA 4 p.m. Dec. 18 at Drexel 2 p.m. Dec. 21 CORNELL Noon Dec. 30 RUTGERS 5 p.m. Jan. 3 at Michigan 1 p.m. Jan. 7 PURDUE 2 p.m. Jan. 11 at Nebraska 8 p.m. Jan. 14 at Iowa 11:30 a.m. (BTN) Jan. 18 MINNESOTA 7 p.m. Jan. 22 WISCONSIN TBA (BTN) Jan. 26 at Rutgers 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at Maryland TBA (BTN) Feb. 2 NORTHWESTERN 7 p.m. Feb. 5 IOWA Noon (BTN) Feb. 12 at Michigan State 3 p.m. Feb. 16 OHIO STATE 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Illinois 3 p.m. Feb. 22 at Purdue 7 p.m. Feb. 25 MICHIGAN STATE 2 p.m. March 1-5 Big Ten Tournament^ TBA * at Daytona Beach (Fla.) Invitational ** ACC/Big Ten Challenge ^ at Minneapolis WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Leap Of Faith Fourth-year coach Carolyn Kieger sees the potential for a breakthrough performance this season M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Senior guard Makenna Marisa has topped 30 points in five games, the fifth-highest total in Lady Lions history. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS