Swarming Defense Lifts Lady Lions to B1G Victory Over Northwestern, 95-55

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: January 3, 2024

Courtesy of GoPSU Athletics

photo by Jeff Shomo

Kieger secures 150th career win in PSU’s largest B1G victory since 2013

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In its largest Big Ten Conference victory since 2013, Penn State women’s basketball utilized swarming defense and placed four student-athletes in double figures in a 95-55 win over the Northwestern Wildcats on Tuesday nightinside the Bryce Jordan Center. Head Coach Carolyn Kieger picked up her 150th career victory in PSU’s first B1G win of the 2023-24 campaign.

Penn State’s 40-point margin of victory against a Big Ten opponent was the largest at PSU since an 84-40 win over the Wisconsin Badgers on January 17, 2013, inside the Bryce Jordan Center. The monumental result saw the Lady Lions climb to 10-4 overall and 1-2 against Big Ten competitors this season while simultaneously improving to 8-1 in games played on the PSU campus. In defeat, Northwestern drops to 6-8 and 1-2 in conference contests. PSU maintains a dominant lead in the all-time series with the Wildcats, holding a 41-12 record against Northwestern.

PSU’s relentless three-quarter court pressure yielded a season-high 30 turnovers which the Lady Lions converted into a whopping 42 points. The Blue & White surrendered just 12 giveaways and held the Wildcats to just four points off turnovers in the game. The Lady Lions were dominant in practically every statistical category Tuesday night, outscoring NU by a 27-12 tally off the bench with a striking 44-28 differential in points in the paint. Penn State recorded 26 assists on 37 made baskets and shot 49% from the field while holding Northwestern to a mere 38% clip.

Senior forward Ali Brigham was dominant on both ends of the court, contributing 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor in addition to her first 3-point basket of the 2023-24 campaign. The Franklin, Massachusetts, native Brigham dealt a season-high five assists and hauled in four rebounds with a block. Graduate guard Tay Valladay continued her stretch of impressive offensive performances, logging 16 points on 60% shooting with three assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki finished the night with 15 points and five rebounds, also matching her season high in assists from PSU’s previous game against Michigan State with six dishes.

All 10 available Lady Lions found their way onto the scoresheet Tuesday night, with redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus rounding out the four Penn Staters in double digits with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting with a pair of 3-point makes. Kapinus matched her season high in rebounds with nine boards, her third instance of at least nine rebounds this season. Redshirt freshman guard Moriah Murray and junior guard Jayla Oden finished with eight points, graduate forward Chanaya Pinto and redshirt sophomore forward Grace Hall each contributed six, sophomore forward Kylie Lavelle added three points and redshirt junior guard Alli Campbell finished the night with two.