UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 20 Penn State women's lacrosse team, the No. 6 seed, begins Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday when it takes on No. 13 Johns Hopkins, the No. 3 seed, in the Quarterfinal Round. First draw is set for approximately 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network with Mark Dixon, play-by-play, and Rachael DeCecco, color analyst, on the call.
The Nittany Lions are hosting the entire Big Ten Tournament, starting on Thursday, April 29. The tournament will feature three quarterfinal games on Thursday, April 29, two semifinal games on Friday, April 30, and the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday, May 2. All games will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
Penn State, led by Head Coach Missy Doherty, enters the tournament with a 4-8 mark. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 20 in the IWLCA Poll.
Johns Hopkins, coached by Janine Tucker, owns a 7-5 record and ranks 13th in the IWLCA Poll.
Follow along with the Nittany Lions by watching on Big Ten Network, Fox Sports Go or following our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateWomensLacrosse) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatewlax).
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 29
Game 1 – Quarterfinal #1 – #4 Rutgers vs. #5 Ohio State, 2 p.m., Big Ten Network
Game 2 – Quarterfinal #2 – #2 Maryland x vs. #7 Michigan, 5 p.m., Big Ten Network
Game 3 – Quarterfinal #3 – #3 Johns Hopkins vs. #6 Penn State, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network
Friday, April 30
Game 4 – Semifinal #1 – #1 Northwestern vs. Game 1 winner, 5 p.m., Big Ten Network
Game 5 – Semifinal #2 – Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network
Sunday, May 2
Game 6 – Final – Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12 p.m., Big Ten Network
CHASING 200 WINS
Head Coach Missy Doherty is closing in on her 200th career win. She currently owns a 199-121 record in her 17th year of coaching. She has a 120-75 record in her 11th season as the head coach of the Nittany Lions.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State leads 16-7 in the all-time series against Johns Hopkins. Both regular season contests were tight with the Blue Jays winning 13-10 on April 7 and 13-11 on April 18. In the last matchup, Kristin O'Neill led PSU with three goals and an assist, while Maria Auth added a hat trick.
MEET THE BLUE JAYS
Johns Hopkins, led by Janine Tucker, has a 7-5 record and is ranked 13th in the IWLCA Poll. The Blue Jays swept Michigan last weekend, earning 13-12 and 20-13 wins.
In Thursday's game, Mackenzie Heldberg led the offense with five goals, while Aurora Cordingley added two goals and three assists. In Saturday's win, Maggie Schneidereith tallied seven goals and two assists. Heldberg and Maeve Barker each contributed three goals and two assists.
Johns Hopkins ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (11.75 goals per game) and second in scoring defense (11.83).
Cordingley paces the team with 48 points and 35 goals. She's third in the Big Ten in points and fourth in goals. Heldberg is 50th in the nation and third in the conference with 20 assists.
Trinity McPherson ranks 26th in the nation in caused turnovers per game (1.92), while Annika Meyer is 35th (1.75). Meyer is also 37th in ground balls per game (2.75).
Garvey is second in the Big Ten averaging 8.58 saves per contest.
SCOUTING THE REST OF THE BIG TEN
Northwestern is the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament with an 11-0 record. The Wildcats are ranked No. 2 in the IWLCA Poll. Izzy Scane leads the country in points (88) and goals (70). Northwestern has a bye in the Quarterfinal Round and will face the winner of Rutgers-Ohio State in the Semifinals.
Maryland enters the tournament with a 7-5 mark, ranked 13th in the IWLCA Poll. Hannah Leubecker paces the Terrapins with 44 goals, good for 18th in the country. Maryland faces Michigan in the Quarterfinals.
Rutgers has a 5-7 record, sitting 16th in the IWLCA Poll. Cassidy Spilis holds sixth in the Big Ten with 33 goals. Rutgers takes on Ohio State in the Quarterfinals.
Ohio State owns a 4-8 mark, ranking 23rd in the IWLCA Poll. Liza Hernandez is fifth in the conference with 34 goals.
Michigan is 3-8 entering the tournament. Molly Garrett leads the Wolverines with 31 goals, good for eighth in the Big Ten.
MOVIN' UP
With a hat trick against Johns Hopkins on April 18, senior Maria Auth continued her climb up Penn State's all-time charts.
In 74 career games, Auth owns 223 points. She currently sits seventh all-time, just four points behind Katie O'Donnell (227; 2015-18) for sixth.
Auth has 159 career goals, sitting sixth at Penn State after passing Madison Cyr (156; 2013-16). Auth also has 64 assists, tying Jen Johnson (1996-99) for 11th. Auth is four assists behind Lee Clough (68; 1986-89) for 10th all-time.
FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Three true freshmen (Kayla Abernathy, Sammy Dupcak, Kristin O'Neill) and three second-year freshmen (Olivia Dirks, Kara Nealon, Rachel Spilker) started for the Nittany Lions against Rutgers. True freshmen Cam Evitts and Gretchen Gilmore also made their first career starts against Northwestern. Alaina Hamood has also seen playing time as a true freshman.
Freshmen have combined for 82 goals of Penn State's 157 goals (52%). They have also combined for 45 of Penn State's 67 assists (67%) and 127 of 224 points (57%).
NITS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
A few Nittany Lions are among the national stat leaders. As a team, Penn State are second in the Big Ten in scoring offense (13.08 goals per game) and sixth in scoring defense (13.92 goals per game).
Olivia Dirks holds 25th in draw controls per game (5.92). Kristin O'Neill ranks 30th in the nation, and second in the Big Ten, with a .615 free-position percentage.
Among Division I freshmen, O'Neill ranks 11th in total points (37), seventh in points per game (3.1), tied eighth in total goals (29) and seventh in goals per game (2.42).
Taylor Suplee holds 41st in the country in saves per game, averaging 8.55, and 23rd in ground balls per game (3.00).
