Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1512721
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 4 4 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Penn State was 7-1 and ranked 25th the Associated Press poll head- ing into its visit to West Virginia on Dec. 4. Just a month into their season, the Lady Lions were already halfway toward equaling last year's total of 14 wins. And as impressive as their victories had been, one of the more encouraging signs of progress was their lone loss. Penn State took eighth-ranked USC down to the wire on Nov. 22 at the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship in the Bahamas. With sophomore guard Shay Ciezki supplying a team- high 18 points, PSU led 68-64 before the Trojans responded with seven consecutive points to retake the lead en route to a 71-70 victory. The Lady Lions regrouped with home wins over Providence (73-66, Nov. 26) and Radford (97-47, Nov. 29). Super senior guard Makenna Marisa was leading the way on the offensive end, ranking seventh in the Big Ten with a 17-point scoring average. Ciezki was 12th at 15.5 points per game. WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Playing on the home court of their 15th-ranked opponent, the No. 14 Nittany Lions pulled out a gritty five-set vic- tory over Kansas on Dec. 1 to advance to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. There were 11 ties and four lead changes in the back-and-forth fifth set. A kill by senior right-side hitter Camryn Hannah gave Penn State a 14-13 lead, and senior libero Maddy Bili- novic ended the match with an ace. Graduate setter Mac Podraza had 52 assists to lead the Penn State attack, while senior outside hitter Jess Mruzik totaled a team-high 21 kills. Penn State had opened the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Yale the night before, and its two wins in Lawrence, Kan., set up a showdown with top-seeded Wisconsin on Dec. 7. In the previous meeting between the two Big Ten ri- vals, Penn State prevailed 3-1 on Nov. 11 at Rec Hall, handing the Badgers only their second loss of the season. Penn State went into the rematch in Madison with a 23-8 overall record. The Nittany Lions fin- ished the Big Ten season with a 15-5 mark. MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: The 18th-ranked Nittany Lions earned their first win of the season over a top-10 opponent when they defeated No. 7 Minnesota, 6-3, on Dec. 2 at Pegula Ice Arena. Penn State scored the game's first 3 goals, with 2 coming off the stick of Ryan Kirwan. The junior forward completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds, part of a 3-goal barrage in the third period that clinched Penn State's victory. The Lions had also jumped out to an early lead in the series opener the previous night, with freshman forward Dane Dowiak opening the scoring in the first period. But Minnesota followed with 4 unanswered goals for a 4-1 win. Penn State had won four of its past five games heading into a two-game series at Wisconsin Dec. 8-9. The Lions were sporting a 9-5-3 record and a 2-3-3 mark in Big Ten play. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: The Nittany Lions had won five in a row and nine of their past 10 heading into a two-game series against Yale Dec. 8-9 at Pegula Ice Arena. The five-game winning streak began with a 3-1 victory at Mercyhurst on Nov. 18. Senior goalie Josie Bothun had 18 saves in the win, helping the Nittany Lions earn a split after dropping the series opener 4-0 the previous night. Penn State followed with two-game sweeps of Dartmouth and Robert Morris, running its overall record to 10-7-1 and 7-1-0 in the Col- lege Hockey America conference. Through 18 games, sophomore forward Tessa Janecke was leading the CHA in assists (18) and was third in goals (8). Bothun was second in the league with a goals-against average of 2.45. MEN'S SOCCER: The second-seeded Nit- tany Lions saw their season end in the Big Ten Tournament championship game when they fell to top-seeded Indiana, 1-0, on Nov. 12 in Bloomington. Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Kris Shakes was tested repeatedly, with the Hoosiers taking 18 shots. Senior forward Peter Mangione at- tempted 6 shots for Penn State, but none of them found the back of the net, and Indiana's goal off the foot of Samuel Sarver in the 38th minute held up, giving the hosts the tourney title along with the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Shakes was named the Defensive Player of the Tournament for his performances against Indiana, Rutgers and Ohio State. The Nittany Lions topped the Scarlet Knights, 3-1, on Nov. 3 and edged the Buckeyes on penalty kicks Nov. 8 after the teams were still tied, 1-1, following three overtime periods. The Nittany Lions finished 10-4-5 overall and tied Indiana for the Big Ten regular-season title with a 4-2-2 record in league play, but that wasn't enough to earn them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. — Matt Herb Through Penn State's first 17 games, junior forward Ryan Kirwan was ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 9 goals. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE FALL/WINTER SPORTS NOTEBOOK