Penn State Women's Basketball Is Ready for Its Moment

The Lady Lions, who visit Iowa and Caitlin Clark, seek their first NCAA Tournament bid in a decade.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Penn State women’s basketball coach Carolyn Kieger called her shot in October. After five straight losing seasons, Kieger explained that she and the Lady Lions had something to prove this year before naming each player of her roster and describing why they were bound for success.

“We have a chip on our shoulder this season, a chip to prove to ourselves, our fans, and the country that we belong among the nation's best,” Kieger said at Big Ten media days. “Every year we have been gaining momentum and getting better, and I truly believe this is our year to thrive.”

And they are. Bolstered by nine transfers, the Lady Lions are 16-6 (7-4 Big Ten) and projected by ESPN to earn a No. 8 seed in the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament. They briefly were ranked 25th in the AP Top 25 early in the season for the first time since finishing at No. 14 in 2014. Coincidentally, that was the last time Penn State played in the NCAA Tournament.

Since Kieger took over in 2019, Penn State steadily has increased its win totals each year but hasn't reached .500. This season, Kieger is targeting the elusive 20-win mark to establish consistency in Penn State’s program and secure a bid in March Madness. Up next in Penn State’s quest: a Thursday night, Big Ten Network showdown against No. 2 Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark, who’s on the verge of becoming the sport’s all-time leading scorer.

“I think it goes back to honestly the last four years of building. It doesn't just happen overnight,” Kieger said. "Obviously, we've been trying to build this culture and this foundation on work habits and chemistry, but I also think change of some personnel that we got in from the transfer portal really was great synergy for our returners.”

Penn State is coming off a home loss to Michigan in which it played uncharacteristically but rattled off six straight Big Ten wins before that, including a 112-76 spectacle at Maryland. Stalwart guard Makenna Marisa, who reached the 2,000-point milestone this season, is playing the fewest minutes of her career, while the transfers have nudged Penn State to play the style Kieger has been trying to build.

Prized Maryland transfer Ashley Owusu, who won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation’s top shooting guard in 2021, has averaged 18.3 points and 4.3 assists in seven games since returning from injury. Virginia transfer Tay Valladay, whom Kieger signed at Marquette but never coached because she took the Penn State job, has become the team’s point guard and averages 11.5 points. 

Transfers Jayla Oden, Moriah Murray, Kylie Lavelle and Alli Campbell each shoot better than 38 percent from 3-point range and give Kieger 12-15 minutes per game. Overall, Penn State is one of the nation's best-shooting teams, ranking second in 3-point success (41.07 percent) and fourth in field-goal shooting (50.86 percent).

“I think our maturity and our depth and our experience has really helped," Kieger said. "But it definitely feels like the pace of play and the type of mentality that I've been trying to get this program to get to. Obviously, the last four years have been trying to teach them how to win. And I think, for them now, it's just to believe that they can go play against anybody and beat anybody.”

RELATED: Makenna Marisa makes Penn State basketball history

Kieger’s first year at Penn State was derailed by the pandemic, which put a wrench in her roster-building timeline. Even this season, Marisa has missed time with injury, Owusu started the year injured and Valladay sustained an injury last week. Penn State also fell in a one-point, neutral-site game to No. 10 USC and in overtime at now-No. 5 Ohio State.

Those games, playing better on the road and overcoming various roster adversities have “proven it’s not a fluke” for Kieger. Those are the times when she can tell her team has arrived.

“I just think this team is mature, and it's taken a while to get here, but they've weathered the storm,” Kieger said. “All the failures and all the lessons that we've learned the last four years have added up for this moment to be ready.”

Kieger believes her team matches up well against Clark and Iowa (tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET). Thursday's game pairs the Big Ten's top-scoring offense (Iowa, at 91.9 points per game) against its No. 2 (Penn State, at 86.7 ppg). The Penn State coach also talked at length Tuesday about Clark’s talent and meteoric rise, specifically its impact on women’s basketball. Penn State will play Iowa in a national broadcast, another good sign for the growth of the sport. 

If Penn State secures a tournament bid this season and reaches Kieger’s 20-win goal, the biggest key will be capitalizing on that momentum. It's something Kieger already has brought to athletic director Pat Kraft’s doorstep.

“Pat is somebody who wants Penn State to thrive. He wants all sports to be competing for championships. And he believes that in his heart of hearts, that we can all do that,” Kieger said. “I think he and I having a lot of conversations about where we think this program can go, where we can get it back to... I say it all the time, I came here to win at the highest level. And to be able to have an administration that supports that is unreal.

“For us now, it's getting those players in here to sustain the success and show them that this is a place that we want to expect to win Big Ten championships.”

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Max Ralph is a Penn State senior studying Broadcast Journalism with minors in sports studies and Japanese. He previously covered Penn State football for two years with The Daily Collegian and has reported with the Associated Press and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter (X) @maxralph_ and Instagram @mralph_59.

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