The start of a new season and a new era begins Monday evening in Happy Valley for the Penn State women's basketball program. Tanisha Wright returns to her alma mater as the new head coach, tasked with restoring the roar for the once-proud women's basketball program. The Lady Lions open the new season at home on Monday in the Byce Jordan Center against Cleveland State as part of a Penn State basketball doubleheader with the men's basketball program (the men's team opens the season against Canisius).
Wright will make her head coaching debut with the Nittany Lions, and she will have some more former Lady Lions joining her on the staff this season: Kelly Mazzante, Susan Robinson, and Angie Potthoff. The roster will have a completely new look as well,
with seven transfers joining the program and three freshmen. Some of the key new additions to the roster include former Nebraska player Petra Boźan, former NC State player Devyn Quigley, and former Nevada star Skyler Durley (the Mountain West Freshman of the Year last season).
Penn State is coming off an 11-18 season a year ago, finishing in 16th place in the Big Ten standings. To say Penn State is starting over and hitting the reset button on the program is a bit of an understatement, but the rebuild has to start somewhere. And that starts with Wright bringing her experience in the WNBA as a player and a coach to help elevate the caliber of play with the Lady Lions.
Cleveland State went 26-10 last season and reached the Horizon League Tournament semifinals. The Vikings advanced to the Great 8 of the WNIT before losing to Arkansas State in the quarterfinal round. Sarah Hurley is the team's leading scorer returning this season, and Paula Pique is back for her junior season. Penn State leads the all-time series with Cleveland State, 1-0, with the only previous meeting being played in 1985.
Here is how to watch the Penn State women's basketball game with Cleveland State on Monday evening.
What channel is Penn State vs. Cleveland State women's basketball on today?
- Date: Monday, November 2, 2026
- Start time: 5:00 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: N/A
- Livestream: B1G+
The Penn State women's basketball game against Cleveland State will not be available to watch on TV. Instead, you can stream the game on the Big Ten's official streaming platform, B1G+.
Watch Penn State vs. Cleveland State women's basketball on B1G+
Updated betting odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Monday, November 2, 2026.
- Spread: N/A
- Penn State moneyline: N/A
- Cleveland State moneyline: N/A
- Over/under: N/A
2026-27 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
South Carolina starts the season sitting on top of the women's basketball world with 26 first-place votes in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. UConn is starting the year ranked second with the remaining 6 first-place ballots in their favor.
Penn State is not among the teams to receive any votes in the preseason poll, but the Big Ten is well represented in the preseason rankings. No. 3 USC, N. 5 Michigan, and No. 10 Iowa wave the Big Ten banner in the top-10. Joining them in the preseason poll are No. 12 UCLA, No. 15 Washington, No. 17 Maryland, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 20 Ohio State, and No. 22 Illinois. Other Big Ten teams receiving votes include Nebraska, Michigan State, and Oregon.
You can view the full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll to see who else is ranked to start the season.
Upcoming Penn State women's basketball schedule
All times are Eastern.
- Nov. 7 at Cincinnati, 2:00 p.m.
- Nov. 9 at Dayton, 7:00 p.m.
- Nov. 15 at Arizona State, 4:00 p.m.
- Nov. 19 vs. Bowling Green, 11:00 a.m.
- Nov. 22 vs. Saint Joseph's, 1:00 p.m.
Full Penn State women's basketball schedule
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: How to watch Penn State Lady Lions season opener vs. Cleveland State
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