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Kent State 81, Penn State 74: Flash Bounce Lions on the Boards to Win

Penn State women's basketball to compete in Gulf Coast Showcase in November  | Penn State Basketball News | collegian.psu.edu

The Penn State Lady Lions (4-3 | 0-0) were outrebounded by Kent State (5-1 | 0-0) in a 81-74 final for the 3rd place game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. With the loss Penn State will take fourth place in the tournament overall after defeating St. John's and losing to #13 Iowa State.

The Lions beat the Flash from behind the arc (43%-32%) and with FG shooting percentages (46%-41%). However, they were beaten at the free throw line 18-22 to 9-11 and on the offensive boards 17-3 to win the rebounding battle 46-23. Penn State did win in the block category 6-1 and steals 6-4, although it was not enough.

This was the 7th game for the Lady Lions in the 2021-22 season and the the 61st game in the Carolyn Kieger era. This was the final game of PSU's three-game tournament stretch in Florida. Now the Lions will take on the Boston College before beginning Big Ten play against #4 Indiana. The next home game for our Penn State team will be Dec. 9th with the Lions will take on Rutgers. Tickets for the Rutgers bout can be purchased HERE.

How It Happened

The game began with two Kent State free throws and one make off of a foul called on PSU's Kelly Jekot at 9:38. Neither team would score a single field goal for some time, Penn State's first points would be scored at the 7:37 mark with Leilani Kapinus drawing a foul and pushing PSU into the lead 2-1 off two free throws. Kent State would end the drought by knocking in a three pointer with 7:14 left to retake the lead 4-2. It would be until the 5:14 mark for PSU to get its first basket with a layup from Makenna Marisa. Kent State would increase their lead to five 9-4 with 4:01 to go off their second three of the night. Penn State and Kent State would make dueling baskets with 2:32 left to give the Flashes a 12-6 lead. KSU continued to pull away in the quarter and stretched their lead to 18-8 with :48 seconds left after Penn State's 4th turnover of the game. Thankfully, the Lions wouldn't allow the bleeding to continue and the 18-8 score would be cemented for the first quarter. The difference was simply that PSU had gone 0-6 behind the arc and Kent State had gone 3-7.

Penn State would end their 3-point shooting drought with a three from Nya Beverley early in the 2nd quarter to pull PSU back to within seven, 18-11. The mini run would continue with a jumper from Marisa with 8:30 left to get the KSU lead down to 18-13. Shay Hagans and Nya Beverley would contribute another lay-up and shot from behind the arc to pull PSU back to within 21-18 with 7:38 in Q2. Shay Hagans continued to stay hot and although Kent State would score a jumper she answered with a three to bring the Lions to down two 23-21 with 6:28 left. The Lions run would be snapped briefly by a Golden Flashes three, but after a Camden jumper and a Shay Hagans steal and score the Lions closed the Flashes lead to just one with 4:58 left 26-25. Kent State would answer and with a media timeout they would lead 28-25 after a foul they committed at the 4:18 mark. Nyam Thorton would get Penn State back to within one with another layup and Leilani Kapinus managed to force a live ball turnover to allow KSU with a 28-27 lead. PSU would briefly tie it up at 28-28 off of going 1-2 from the charity stripe with 3:14 left in the half. Kent State would then make the next four points off of two turnovers from PSU to retake a 32-28 lead with 1:30 lead. Makenna Marisa would knock in two free throws with :26 left in half to pull the Lions back within a possession and would give PSU some momentum going into the half.

Both teams would begin the 2nd half trading layups with Shay Hagans getting to the 10 point mark. Ali Brigham would give PSU her first points of the night off a layup with 7:55 in the period to keep pace with the flash being down 36-34. Nya Beverley would end KSU's back-and-forth battle with a 2-and-1 completion to pull the Lions down to 38-37 with 6:24 left. Penn State would take advantage on this miscue from Kent State and take the lead 39-38 with 5:25 left off of another Beverley layup. The Flash would tie the game up with a free throw at 39-39 and soon would get the ball back off a miscue from Tova Sabel with an offensive foul. KSU and PSU would trade baskets to stay tied 41-41 with 4:10 left thanks to a layup from Anna Camden. Nyam Thornton would help the Lions retake the lead off a shot from behind the arc 44-43 with 3:31 left. Kent State would retake a 49-44 lead with a foul and layup with 2:11 left. Makenna Marisa would end the Flashes' run by drilling a three with :59 remaining to close their lead to just 49-47. KSU's advantage in offensive rebounding would be the difference in the first three periods to give them a 53-49 lead while leading with offensive rebounds 13-2. The difference in scoring would be in the free throw department at this point with the Lions going 6-7 from the line and the Flash going 10-12. The Lions would hold the Flash to 0-5 from behind the arc in the quarter while PSU maintained a 2-3 advantage.

The final quarter started off poorly for Penn State with a quick turnover and foul. Kent State took advantage and knocked in their first three pointer of the half to take a 56-49 lead with 9:14 left in the game. Nya Beverley would help the Lions recover and get a layup with 56-51 with 8:47 to go. A lucky offensive rebound gave KSU a gift to push their lead to 59-51 with 8:16 left. Kent State's 10-2 run quickly continued to give them a 63-51 lead with 6:49 remaining. The Lions would earn a trip the the free throw line after Marisa and went 1-2 from the line 6:13 left. Marisa would earn another trip to the line with 5:59 after being hacked on the left block to pull the Lions back to within 63-54. Shay Hagans confidently nailed a three-pointer with 5:16 in the quarter to bring the score to 64-57. Penn State would then force two live ball turnovers with Hagans and Marisa scoring layups to quickly close to 66-61 with 3:40 left. The Lions and Flash would continue to trade baskets and Kent State would hold a 74-67 lead with 2:07 left in the half and a timeout by Coach Kieger. The timeout would be used well with Anna Camden swishing a three pointer to pull the Lions within 74-70 with 1:51 remaining. Kent State would nab a layup and a free throw to push their lead back up to 77-70 with :35 seconds left. Ultimately the Lions rally was not enough and Kent State would knock off the Lions 81-74.

Random Thoughts

  • Penn State is now 2-1 all-time against Kent State.
  • Four players scored in double figures for Penn State: Makenna Marisa (23), Shay Hagans (15), Nya Beverley (14), and Anna Camden (10).
  • Coach Krieger is 20-41 all-time at Penn State.

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