NASSAU, Bahamas – Sophomore guard Shay Ciezki's career high scoring night of 27 points highlighted Penn State women's basketball's 89-80 win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls in the opening game of the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship at the Baha Mar Convention Center Monday night.
The Lady Lions secured their fifth-straight victory to open the season, matching their 5-0 start from last year while booking a pair of wins over power-five opposition. PSU is now 2-0 against teams that competed in last year's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament after downing OSU and St. John's in addition to logging a win over the reigning WNIT champion Kansas Jayhawks last week.
Penn State's gauntlet of point scores with six reaching double figures for the third time this season persisted in the opening game of the tournament. The Lady Lions connected on 48% of their field goal attempts in addition to 45% of their tries from long range. The key to the contest was portrayed in Penn State's ability to convert defense into offense. The Lady Lions forced 25 turnovers at the hands of the Cowgirls and converted 29 points off that defensive effort.
Ciezki, a native of Buffalo, New York, tallied a career-high 27 points in the contest while also matching her personal high seven three-point baskets made. Her 18 second half points led all scoring in the game and led the team to 10 total buckets from beyond the arc. Graduate guard Tay Valladay also impressed from deep, sinking two-of-three from range. She finished with a season high 16 points while adding a game high five steals. Senior Ali Brigham was a threat on the inside, producing a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the forward's 30th double figure outing. Chanaya Pinto (11) Makenna Marisa (10) and Jayla Oden (10) rounded out the six Lady Lions scoring 10 or more points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Lady Lions got off to a strong start, with Kapinus finding Brigham for a layup to book the opening point of the contest. OSU responded about a minute later with a made 3-pointer, but the Lady Lions managed to get one back at the line from Kapinus followed by a fast break layup from Marisa with 6:55 remaining in the frame. Both squads exchanged buckets, but the Blue & White scored four of their next four field goal attempts to make it 12-8 in PSU's favor midway through the first quarter.
Out of the media timeout, the Cowgirls committed an offensive foul that Ciezki turned into back-to-back 3-point buckets to make it an 18-10 Lady Lion lead with a little more than two minutes to go. Brigham added a driving layup with 2:13 left and OSU added a jumper down low to finalize the 20-12 PSU lead through one.
Second Quarter
Early turnovers for both squads kept the Lady Lions and Cowgirls off the board, but a tough and-one layup from Pinto got the scoring going for PSU after converting on the old-school 3-point play. Penn State's high-pressure defensive effort continued to force OSU turnovers, and Pinto booked a layup with 7:51 to go to finalize her personal 5-0 run. Long-range shooting kept OSU in the contest, but a driving bucket from Valladay halted the Cowgirls' 6-0 reply. A right-handed hook shot from Brigham with 2:39 to play in the half preserved Penn State's edge after a few OSU scores, with the Lady Lions leading 29-22.
A handful of late fouls on both teams allowed for some free throw exchanges, but a jumper from Brigham proved to be the last field goal of the frame with the Blue & White leading by a 32-26 edge at the break.
Third Quarter
Oklahoma State opened the second half with a quick driving layup, but Valladay drilled a 3-point bucket off a cross-court pass from Kapinus to respond. A lefty layup from Brigham gave Penn State a seven-point advantage, and another steal resulted in a layup for Valladay to push the Blue & White ahead by a nine-point edge with 8:25 remaining.
The Cowgirls refused to concede, booking a 13-4 run in the next three-plus minutes to take their first lead since a 6-5 edge in the first quarter. After a Penn State timeout, both teams traded buckets just before the Lady Lions engaged in a 7-0 run to retake the lead by four points. OSU snapped back with seven straight points of their own, but a Ciezki 3-point blast silenced the opposition, and a Marisa buzzer-beating layup gave Penn State a 57-55 lead with 10 minutes to play in the contest.
Fourth Quarter
The Blue & White opened the period's scoring with a Ciezki triple to give PSU a tough five-point edge. A quick Cowgirl timeout allowed OSU to run a play for a successful 3-pointer, but Ciezki rattled off an individual 7-2 run to put Penn State ahead by nine with 6:26 to go. The sophomore Lady Lion guard had outscored OSU by a 12-5 margin around halfway through the period. PSU and OSU exchanged points as time continued to tick away, but a pair of long-range bombs from Ciezki gave Penn State a nine-point advantage with less than two minutes remaining.
Late game heroics brought the Cowgirls back within four, but the Lady Lions held on and sank multiple free throws down the stretch to finalize the 89-80 result.
POSTGAME NOTES
Penn State vs. Oklahoma State
November 20, 2023
Baha Mar Convention Center (Nassau, Bahamas)
- Six Penn State players cracked double digits for the third time this season: Ciezki (27), Valladay (16), Brigham (14), Pinto (11), Marisa (10) and Oden (10).
- The Lady Lions produced 26 points off the bench, marking their fifth game with at least that many.
- The team converted defense into offense, scoring 29 points off 25 Oklahoma State turnovers.
- There were eight lead changes and five tie scores throughout the game.
- Ciezki surpassed her career high points with 27 on the night including seven triples, tying her personal best. Her 7-of-13 shooting from deep led her one shy of cracking into the top-five of single-game-three-pointers.
- Valladay was effective on both sides of the ball, scoring a season high 16 points and meeting her career high five steals. The graduate student also contributed three assists and two rebounds.
- Marisa scored in double figures for the fifth-straight game to open the season.
- Brigham produced her first double-double of the season and second of her career. She went seven-for-12 from the field, good for 14 points to earn her 30th double-digit performance in a Lady Lion uniform.
- Pinto scored 11 points, shooting a perfect seven-of-seven from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
The Lady Lions are set for their first ranked match up of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 22 when they take on no. 8 USC. Tip off in the Baha Mar Convention Center is set for 9 p.m.
FOLLOW THE LADY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women's basketball. Fans can keep up to date with the Lady Lion women's basketball team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @PennStateWBB.