Penn State women’s basketball holding on to NCAA Tournament hopes as March approaches

When Carolyn Kieger accepted the role of Penn State’s head coach in 2019, it was never her — or anyone’s — expectation to have a winning team immediately.

The season prior, in 2018-19, the Lady Lions went 12-18. It was a team entering a rebuild. The questions were, who would lead the team through that rebuild, and when would it end?

“When I came here, I knew it was gonna be a process. I knew we were gonna have to rebuild this thing brick-by-brick,” Kieger said on Tuesday.

Penn State has improved its win total in every season under Kieger. Last season, the Lady Lions went 14-17, their highest win total since the former Marquette coach had taken over. And now, all signs are pointing to the program finally exiting that rebuild.

Through 18 games this season, Penn State is 13-5, including a 10-1 record at home, and continues to hold on to NCAA Tournament hopes heading into February.

With a team full of veteran players, including an impactful six-player transfer class, the Lady Lions have the firepower, depth and coaching to make some noise in the Big Ten as the season concludes.

It took time to build a winner under Kieger, but this is the season the program has been waiting for.

“You want immediate success as a coach and as a player, but it takes time to build it the right way,” Kieger said. “I’m just so proud that our players are starting to feel the success of all their hard work the last four years.”

This season, the Lady Lions have played a fast-paced style on both ends of the floor with a team built around versatile guards.

Offensively, Penn State lets it fly from deep. The blue and white rank second in the nation in 3-point percentage (40.6%) and have four players with 15+ total 3-pointers this season.

Makenna Marisa, a fifth-year guard that’s been around as long as Kieger, remains a deadly and reliable three-level scorer. In the past, she’s carried a heavy burden as a ball handler and scorer — but now, with multiple talented guards around her, Marisa has played off-ball more.

“She really only cares about her teammates and Penn State,” Kieger said of Marisa. “She’s refreshing to coach because she’s just so eager to learn, but she’s also just willing to help everybody else around her get better.”

Transfers Moriah Murray and Tay Valladay, along with sophomore sharpshooter Shay Ciezki, have provided secondary shooting, playmaking and scoring. All season, Kieger’s said that anybody on her squad can get hot on any given night.

However, Penn State’s most recent addition to its starting lineup, fifth-year Virginia Tech transfer Ashley Owusu, has arguably taken the team’s ceiling to another level.

Owusu, an AP Third Team All-American in 2020-21, missed the first 15 games of the season due to injury. She made her return to the floor and her Lady Lion debut on Jan. 14 against Rutgers, and without missing a beat dropped 18 points, five rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes.

“Our staff did a phenomenal job keeping her ready,” Kieger said.

With Owusu now in the fold, Penn State has a natural scorer and playmaker that can run its offense at a high level. Since returning, she’s averaging 19 points and 3.3 assists per game, and her presence on the floor has allowed Penn State’s other guards to focus on other aspects of the game.

“What Ashley brings, that we really needed the last couple years, is just a composure. The game just slows down for her,” Kieger said. “She does a great job controlling the pace. And I think that’s just gonna help Makenna (Marisa), it’s gonna help Shay (Ciezki), it’s gonna help Tay Valladay, to take that pressure off them a little bit.”

Defensively this season, Kieger often has her squad trapping ball handlers, prioritizing forced turnovers and running in transition as soon as it gains possession.

With no current injuries to handle, the fifth-year Penn State coach has just over a month to figure out her go-to lineups based on matchups.

“This team is so deep,” Kieger said. “We have such a chip on our shoulder and something to prove.”

Penn State hasn’t won at least 20 games in a season since 2016-17, when it was coached by Coquese Washington. It hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since the 2013-14 season, when Maggie Lucas headlined the roster.

With 11 games left in their regular season schedule, the Lady Lions have an opportunity to return their program to a high status.

On Thursday at Northwestern, Penn State will continue play with a healthy squad that’s 3-0 since Owusu’s return. Over the next month, they’ll continue to pursue a goal they’ve had since the season started in November: make the NCAA Tournament.

“That’s been our goal from the beginning of the year. We said we believe we could be a Sweet 16, or beyond, team,” Kieger said. “Now that we’re fully healthy, that definitely is in the back of our minds of what we’re trying to do, but you only get there by taking it one game at a time.”