Week 1: Lady Lions

Lady Lions have started their season 2-0. Here’s our on-hand coverage of each victory:

BUCKNELL 

The Penn State Lady Lions beat the Bucknell Bison in their season opener 94-51.

The starting lineup consisted of four returners (Marisa, Ciezki, Kapinus and Brigham) with transfer guard from Virginia Tay Valladay being added to the mix.

The Lady Lions dominated both sides of the ball, shooting 12-25 from three and causing an outstanding 26 turnovers from the Bison. Shay Ciezki led the way in points with 18 and 4-9 from three.

The Lady Lions showed good team depth including Alli Campbell who only played ten games last year due to a season ending injury and got shaken up within a minute of her entering the game.

“What a phenomenal job she did coming back from injury. She looks bigger, better, stronger than ever. She will be back shortly,” head coach Carolyn Kieger said.

“Obviously, you saw this team will be really fun to watch this year,” Kieger said.

NAVY

In their second game of the season the Lady Lions blew out the Midshipmen 107-44.

The Lady Lions threw out the same starting lineup as game 1 but this time Alli Campbell was not available off the bench and was seen in a walking boot.

The 1st Quarter of the game went up and down for both teams. The Midshipmen started the game shooting 3-4 to lead by 5 early. With under 5 minutes left in the first, a switch flipped for the Lady Lions, and they finished out the quarter on a 17-0 run.

Navy got limited to 7 points in the second quarter and the Lady Lions prevailed to a 56-21 halftime lead. Redshirt Junior Leilani Kapinus had an outstanding first half. She was 8-9 and led the team in points at 18 and a +/- of 26. She finished with the game leading the team with 24 points.

For the 2nd straight game, the Lady Lions forced 26 turnovers from their opponent. They also outrebounded the midshipmen 57-33.

Redshirt freshmen Moriah Murray had a huge shooting night going 4-7 from 3 in only her 2nd collegiate game.

“Having the girls’ trust has helped me a lot, not going into the games nervous. Our chemistry from the summer has built a lot,” Murray said.

The Lady Lions will have their first test of the season Monday night when they host the Kansas Jay Hawks at the Bryce Jordan Center followed by a road trip to Queens, NY where they will face the St. John’s Red Storm.

Written By: Nick Senyk