However this year ends for Penn State women’s basketball, Kiyomi McMiller is ending the regular season with a bang.
The Lady Lions sophomore point guard has gone on a tear the entire month of February, scoring at least 30 points in five consecutive games, including setting a new career-high 37 points against Michigan. McMiller then tying her career-high in an 87-78 victory over her old team, Rutgers.
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Her scoring prowess was never in doubt, but to see this level of production, for this long, is a new level for McMiller.
“Kiyomi is super confident right now from all three levels,” head coach Carolyn Kieger said about McMiller. “Obviously her 3-point shot has been falling, but getting to the free-throw line has drastically helped in our recent wins.
“You can tell she’s playing free and looking off screens, in open space and transition. So it’s kind of clicking on all cylinders for her right now.”
Before this five-game stretch, McMiller’s season-high for free-throw attempts was 8. During the run, she went 9-for-12 against Purdue and 9-of-11 against Northwestern, both victories.
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Even shooting 6-for-9 against Rutgers is a step in the right direction as Kieger highlighted McMiller’s improvement of getting into the paint.
Another notable difference with her scoring outburst is her efficiency. McMiller’s been a reliable 15-to-20-point scorer for Penn State all season, but it would come on a lot of shot attempts. In the last five games, she’s averaging 33.2 points per game on only 24 field-goal attempts according to ESPN, a significant step forward.
“Getting to the free-throw line helps that, and she had a couple finishes around the rim that were really high-level,” Kieger said. “She’s just taking what’s coming to her, and going inside-outside with Gracie Merkle as they continue to have great synergy.”
The challenge for the final two regular season games will be to still play with offensive balance. Obviously, you want to make sure the hot hand (McMiller) and your other top scorer (Merkle) get majority of the touches as the team fights for its playoff life. But it’s imperative that the defense respects the other three players on the floor so opponents can’t focus on your best players.
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“We have some really good spot-up shooters who do a great job of limiting other teams’ ability to build walls, double-team or triple-team Gracie,” Kieger said. “We always say ‘pass up a good shot for a great shot’ and to trust your teammates. It’s something we continue to work on.”
Penn State women’s basketball plays a do-or-die game against Jazzy Davidson and USC in the final home contest of the regular season. Winning the game would greatly increase their chances of making the Big Ten Tournament, while a loss would virtually eliminate the Lady Lions.
Penn State stands at 10-17 overall and 3-13 in the Big Ten.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Inside Kiyomi McMiller’s crazy scoring stretch for Penn State WBB
