UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team put its four-game win streak on the line Wednesday afternoon when the Lady Lions travel to #15 Indiana. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.
FOLLOW ALONG
- TV: Big Ten Network – Lisa Byington (play-by-play) and Christy Winters Scott (analyst)
- Listen: Penn State Sports Network with Justin Antweil and Joe Putnam – 93.3 FM, 1390 AM and online
- Live Stats: Live Stats
- Game Notes: Penn State Notes
- Digital Program: Digital Program
OPENING TIPS
- Penn State seeks its fifth-straight win Wednesday afternoon, and its sixth in the last eight games, when the Lady Lions travel to #15 Indiana.
- Penn State secured its fourth-straight win Sunday afternoon with a 98-74 victory over Wisconsin. It was the Lady Lions' most points against a Big Ten opponent in nearly 20 years.
- Johnasia Cash was named Big Ten Player of the Week Monday afternoon after averaging 22.5 ppg and 11.5 rpg while shooting 63 percent from the field in Penn State's wins over Wisconsin and Nebraska last week.
- The Lady Lions are the youngest team in the Big Ten with an average age of 19.56 and eight true freshmen on the roster.
IF PENN STATE BEATS INDIANA
- The Lady Lions would earn their fifth-straight win and fourth-straight road victory.
- Penn State would beat a team ranked in the top 20 of the AP poll for the first time since Nov. 20, 2016 when unranked PSU defeated #13 Tennessee 70-56 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- PSU would beat Indiana in Bloomington for the first time since Feb. 13, 2014.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
- Indiana currently ranks 15th in the AP Top 25. The Hoosiers sit third in the Big Ten with a 9-2 mark in conference play that is part of a 10-1 overall record.
- The Indiana defense ranks second in the conference, giving up just 59.3 points per game.
- The Hoosiers are coming off wins over Michigan State (79-67) and at Iowa (85-72) last week and have won six of their last seven games.
- Mackenzie Holmes leads the team with 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Grace Berger (15.5 ppg) and Ali Patberg (12.8 ppg) follow.
AGAINST THE HOOSIERS
- Penn State leads the all-time series 33-16, but Indiana has won seven of the last eight matchups.
- The Lady Lions will be looking for their first win in Bloomington since the 2013-14 season.
- Indiana claimed the season's first meeting, 85-64, on Jan. 7 inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Hoosiers scored 52 points in the second half to pull away for the victory.
- Johnasia Cash led Penn State with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Tova Sabel added 15, while Kelly Jekot scored 13 and Makenna Marisa had 10.
ON FIRE
- Penn State has won its last four games, and five of its last seven, thanks to contriubtions from up and down the lineup.
- The Lady Lions have scored 80 or more points in each of the four wins.
- Johnasia Cash is averaging 21.8 ppg and 11.3 rpg in the four-game stretch to lead the way, while four other Lady Lions are also averaging double-digit points: Makenna Marisa (17.3), Shay Hagans (11.5), Maddie Burke (11.5), Anna Camden (10.3).
- Below are key numbers from the 4-0 stretch compared to the first 11 games of the season:
| Statistic | Last four games | First 11 games |
| Points per game | 85.8 | 73.6 |
| 3-pt. FG made per game | 9.3 | 6.9 |
| Assists per game | 19.3 | 13.1 |
| Turnovers per game | 7.8 | 17.5 |
| Turnovers forced per game | 17.5 | 15.2 |
| Steals per game | 10.8 | 7.1 |
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
- Penn State scored its most points against a Big Ten opponent in nearly 20 years in its most recent game Sunday as the Lady Lions made it four-straight wins with a 98-74 victory over Wisconsin.
- Penn State's 98 points were the most against a Big Ten opponent since the Lady Lions hung 101 on Illinois on Feb. 15, 2001.
- The 24-point win was Penn State's largest margin of victory over a Big Ten foe since Jan. 16, 2017 when the Lady Lions beat the Badgers by 30.
- The 98 points are the most for Penn State overall since scoring 106 against Saint Peter's on Nov. 13, 2016.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
- Penn State finished Sunday's game against Wisconsin with a season-high 26 assists and just three turnovers.
- Penn State, the ninth-youngest team in the country, is the only Division I team to record more than 25 assists (26) and 3 or fewer turnovers in a single game this season.
- The three turnovers were a Penn State record low inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- The Lady Lions have turned the ball over 10 times or less in each of the last four games.
CASH IS MONEY
- Senior transfer Johnasia Cash (previously SMU) has been on a tear as of late, recording double-doubles in six of Penn State's last eight games.
- She earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Monday after shooting 63.0 percent (17-for-27) from the field while averaging 22.5 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per contest to lead Penn State in its 2-0 week as the Lady Lions ran their win streak to four-straight.
- The McKeesport, Pa. native became the first Penn State player to record double-doubles in four-consecutive games since 1997 when she notched her fourth-straight against Nebraska last Thursday. Angie Potthoff was the last PSU player to accomplish the feat 24 years ago. She went for 27 points and a career-best 19 rebounds in just 23 minutes of action against the Huskers. Her 19 rebounds were the second-most boards ever by a Lady Lion in a single conference game as a member of the Big Ten (since 1992-93). She added 18 points in just 16 minutes of action Sunday against Wisconsin.
- Cash's efficiency has improved greatly in her first year under Head Coach Carolyn Kieger. She's shooting 50.5 percent (93-for-184) from the field this season and was a 36.0 percent (266-for-738) shooter in her three seasons at SMU.
BEVERLEY BLOSSOMING
- Senior transfer Niya Beverley's (previously Wisconsin) steady presence on the court has been a key factor in Penn State's success as of late.
- Over the last five games, Beverley has dished 26 assists compared to just two turnovers in 178 minutes of action.
- That is a 13-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last five games.
MARISA COMING INTO HER OWN
- Makenna Marisa has turned her game up a notch in her sophomore season.
- Marisa is currently averaging 15.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 4.6 apg compared to her freshman year numbers of 9.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 2.7 apg.
- Marisa has gone for 20-plus points in three of Penn State's last five games.
BACK COURT THREATS
- Sophomore Shay Hagans has set the tone defensively in Penn State's 4-0 streak, leading the team with 14 steals during that time in addition to her 11.5 ppg.
- Freshman Maddie Burke has drilled 14 three-pointers in the last four games while shooting 48.3 percent from deep. She has chipped in 11.5 ppg in Penn State's four-game winning streak.
ADJUSTING WITHOUT JEKOT
- Graduate transfer Kelly Jekot suffered a season-ending injury in practice prior to the Lady Lions' Jan. 17 game against Northwestern. Jekot was the team's leader in scoring (15.9 ppg) and minutes played (34.6 mpg), and the team's second-leading rebounder (6.8 rpg).
- Jekot was relied upon as a key veteran leader for a young Penn State squad. Carolyn Kieger will rely on a committee-based approach to replace Jekot's on-court production.
YOUNGEST TEAM IN THE BIG TEN
- Penn State's 2020-21 roster features eight freshmen and four transfers who are seeing their first court time in in the Blue and White this season. The eight freshmen, all true freshmen, are tied for the national lead in number of freshmen on Division I rosters. Oral Roberts and Incarnate Word also have eight freshmen on their rosters.
- Penn State is ranked as the ninth-youngest team in Division I, and the youngest in the Big Ten, with an average age of 19.56.
- Penn State has 11 players that have two or less years of Division I playing experience, which equates to 73.3 percent of its roster.
UP NEXT
- Penn State returns home to host its 15th-annual Play4Kay Game Benefiting Pink Zone Saturday when the Lady Lions host Michigan State at noon on the Big Ten Network.