Michigan State women's basketball is set to resume Big Ten play on Saturday when the Spartans visit University Park to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions. Start time is set for 4 p.m. Eastern Time at the Bryce Jordan Center with the game on the Big Ten Network, marking a double-header with the men's game against Indiana State on FS1 at 2 p.m.
MSU closed out non-conference action last week in the Cherokee Invitational, defeating Richmond 83-76 and Coastal Carolina 105-66 to take home the trophy before a holiday break. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault posted a career-best 32-point performance against Coastal Carolina in the second game of the invitational.
The Spartans return to conference play with a 10-2 record and 0-1 mark after falling to Nebraska in the conference season opener earlier this month in East Lansing. MSU is 1-0 in true road game matchups, though, having defeated DePaul in Chicago last month. The Spartans also enter the matchup on a three-game winning streak that dates back to a 91-67 victory over Central Michigan on Dec. 17.
Saturday's matchup marks the lone meeting between PSU and MSU this season. The Lady Lions enter the game with a 9-3 record, but also holding a 0-1 start to league play following a 94-84 overtime loss at then No. 12 Ohio State on Dec. 10. The other two losses came to then No. 8 USC in the Bahamas and at West Virginia.
Penn State hosts MSU on a two-game win streak, having downed Saint Francis and Central Connecticut State in its last two outings and having broken the century mark in both games. The Lady Lions are also 7-0 at home so far this season.
PSU boasts the third-highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 88.3 points per game to MSU's league-best 92.0. The team is second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.509) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (.425).
Defensively, the Lady Lions are four spots behind the Spartans at No. 12, giving up 65.8 points per game to opponents. MSU is holding its opponents to an average of just 63.3 points.
Makenna Marisa leads Penn State with 17.2 ppg, good for seventh in the Big Ten and also is 10th in the league in field goal percentage, averaging 50.7%. The fifth-year senior guard also leads the team in helpers with 3.6 assists per game (13th in the league).
Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki is right behind her in scoring with 16.5 ppg, good for 10th in the Big Ten just behind MSU's Moira Joiner. Ciezki is fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 42.5% of her shots from behind the arc. Redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus is the only other player for the Lady Lions averaging double figures, scoring 10.3 ppg. Kapinus also leads PSU in blocks (1.3 per game, tied-fifth in B1G), and steals (1.8 per game, tied-11th in B1G).
Head coach Carolyn Kieger is in her fifth season leading Penn State and holds a 50-76 record with the Lady Lions. Overall, her career record in her 10th season sits at 149-140 coming into Saturday's game.
Michigan State trails Penn State 31-24 all-time in the series, and hold a home series lead of 17-8 despite MSU leaving town last season with a 80-65 victory in University Park on Feb. 25. The Spartans have won six of the last seven overall, in fact, sweeping last season's matchups that included a 81-75 overtime victory in East Lansing on Feb. 12.
In the second meeting last season at Bryce Jordan Center, DeeDee Hagemann set a career high in scoring with 20 points alongside six rebounds and three assists. Kamaria McDaniel added 12 points while Taiyier Parks scored 11 coming off the bench. PSU's Ziezki led all scorers with 27 points in the matchup.
The Spartans have been shorthanded, playing just seven in their last several games due to injuries. Fans will be eagerly awaiting the player availability report ahead of the game's tip off to see if the bench is any longer to support MSU's high-pressure defense and fast paced style of play. If it doesn't expand back to a larger pool soon, the wear and tear of league play is likely to hurt on-court production in Big Ten action.
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