UNIVERSITY PARK — Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki’s 18 points led six players in double figures as the Penn State women’s basketball team picked up a 94-51 opening night victory over Bucknell on Tuesday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
PSU’s perfect record against Bucknell continued following the 14th meeting between the two programs.
The Lady Lions climbed to 14-0 against the Bison in their first meeting following a decade-long hiatus.
Redshirt junior Alli Campbell, the former Bellwood-Antis High School star, hit a 3-pointer and produced a steal and assist for the Lady Lions in a brief appearance in the game.
Campbell, who has suffered two serious knee injuries during her collegiate career, exited the court and later joined her teammates back on the bench.
PSU was dominant in nearly every facet of the game, outshooting the Bison by 24 percent. The Lady Lions finished the night going 35-of-59 from the floor and 12-of-25 from beyond the arc, connecting on 59% of field goal attempts overall and 48% from 3-point range.
Penn State forced 26 turnovers and turned those into 31 points on the other end. Penn State dominated the rebounding battle, outworking Bucknell by a 37-25 margin on the boards.
Ciezki led the way for PSU offensively, on 6-for-13 shooting with four made 3-point buckets. The second-year guard added four rebounds, four assists and sank both of her free throw attempts in a team-high 27 minutes of work. Senior guard Makenna Marisa moved into ninth place all-time in career scoring at Penn State following a 14-point, four-assist outing, while sophomore forward Kylie Lavelle poured in 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night.
Graduate guard Tay Valladay, redshirt freshman guard Moriah Murray and junior guard Jayla Oden rounded out the six Penn Staters in double digits, while redshirt junior guard Leilani Kapinus finished with a game-high nine rebounds.
The Lady Lions’ signature full-court press resulted in a trio of Bison turnovers in the opening two minutes of action, allowing Marisa an opportunity to drive into the paint for the first PSU points of the year on a right-handed layup.
The Lady Lions rattled off an 8-0 scoring run beginning at the 6:20 mark of the opening frame to build up a quick 10-2 edge. Back-to-back driving layups from Oden ballooned the early Lady Lion lead to 14-4.
BUCKNELL (0-1): King 4-9 4-4 14, Sullivan 1-6 3-4 5, Theodorsson 2-7 0-0 4, Dingler 3-7 0-2 6, O’Connor 1-3 0-0 3, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Reinbeau 0-3 1-2 1, Sofilkanich 3-7 2-4 8, Kulesza 1-1 1-2 4, Sabino 1-1 0-0 3, Scognamiglio 1-4 0-0 3, Totals 17-48 11-18 51
PENN ST. (1-0): Brigham 2-3 3-4 7, Ciezki 6-13 2-2 18, Kapinus 2-4 0-0 4, Marisa 6-12 0-0 14, Valladay 5-7 2-4 12, Hall 0-1 1-2 1, Lavelle 5-5 0-0 13, Pinto 1-2 0-0 2, Campbell 1-1 0-0 3, Murray 2-6 4-4 10, Oden 5-5 0-1 10, Totals 35-59 12-17 94
Bucknell 17 14 13 7 — 51
Penn St. 26 22 27 19 — 94
3-Point Goals–Bucknell 6-19 (King 2-7, Theodorsson 0-1, Dingler 0-2, O’Connor 1-2, Reinbeau 0-2, Kulesza 1-1, Sabino 1-1, Scognamiglio 1-3), Penn St. 12-25 (Ciezki 4-9, Kapinus 0-1, Marisa 2-4, Hall 0-1, Lavelle 3-3, Campbell 1-1, Murray 2-6). Assists–Bucknell 11 (Dingler 2, King 2, O’Connor 2, Theodorsson 2), Penn St. 22 (Murray 5). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–Bucknell 25 (Dingler 7), Penn St. 37 (Kapinus 9). Total Fouls–Bucknell 13, Penn St. 16. Technical Fouls–None. A–1,977.
