Biography
CAREER NOTES & RECORDS
Career: Ranks fifth in program history in career steals average (2.6) and tied for ninth in career block average (1.1).
Season: 2022-23: Ninth-best steals average (3.1) in a single-season at Penn State.
Game: 2022-23: Tied for the second-most steals (nine) by a Lady Lion at Bryce Jordan Center against Fairfield (11/11).
2023-24 REDSHIRT JUNIOR SEASON
Awards: All-Big Ten Defensive Team (Coaches and Media)…All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (media)…Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll (Dec. 18)
Bucknell (11/7): Brought down team-high nine rebounds…Recorded four points, three assists and two steals. Navy (11/10): Scored 24 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Kansas (11/13): Led team with seven boards…Notched six points…Blocked three shots. at St. John’s (11/16): Dominant defensive performance with three steals and three blocks…Added six points, six rebounds and four assists vs. Oklahoma State (11/20): Recorded a steal and a block…Grabbed five boards. vs. USC (11/22): Tallied seven points and five rebounds…Blocked a shot and got a steal. Providence (11/26): Dropped seven points...Notched two steals. Radford (11/29): Scored 15 points...Added eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. at West Virginia (12/4): Dropped eight points...Brought down six rebounds. St. Francis (12/17): Scored a career-high 25 points on 9-13 shooting...Added six boards, five steals and four assists. Central Connecticut State (12/20): Filled box score with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Michigan State (12/30): Notched 11 points and six rebounds. Northwestern (1/2): Recorded season-high six steals...Tallied 14 points, nine boards and two assists. at Indiana (1/10): Scored team-high 15 points...Added six rebounds and three steals. Purdue (1/18): Recorded five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Nebraska (1/21): Filled stat sheet with 13 points, five assists, four boards, four steals and two blocks. Maryland (1/28): Dropped 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, four steals, an assist and one block. at Minnesota (1/31): Tallied 16 points, six boards and an assist…Contributed two steals and two blocks on the defensive end. Michigan (2/3): Recorded first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds…Added three steals and three assists. at Iowa (2/8): Earned double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds…Notched two steals and two blocks. at Wisconsin (2/11): Tallied 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Illinois (2/15): Led team with nine rebounds…Added eight points, two assists, two steals and a block. at Maryland (2/18): Recorded eight points, eight boards, three assists and two steals. Ohio State (2/22): Notched third double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds…Contributed three steals and two blocks on the defensive end. at Purdue (2/28): Tallied 14 points, five boards, two assists and a blocked shot. Minnesota (3/3): Shot a near-perfect 9-10 from the field en route to a 23-point performance…Grabbed nine rebounds…Earned two steals and a block in the Lady Lions’ best defensive outing of the season. Big Ten Tournament vs. Wisconsin (3/7): Scored 10 points…Added two rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Big Ten Tournament vs. Iowa (3/8): Led team with 19 points, shooting 7-11 from the field and 3-6 from behind the arc…Recorded five rebounds, two assists and two steals. WBIT vs. George Mason (3/21): Earned fourth double-double of the season 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds…Added three assists, three steals and two blocks. WBIT vs. Belmont (3/25): Scored 1,000th career point with 11 in the game…Notched seven boards, four assists, a steal and a block. WBIT vs. Mississippi State (3/28): Blocked a career-high five shots…Tallied nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. WBIT vs. Villanova (4/1): Recorded fifth double-double with 18 points and 13 boards…Assisted on four buckets…Notched three steals and two blocks on the defensive end.
2022-23 REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE SEASON
Awards: All-Big Ten Defensive Team (Coaches and Media)…All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (media)…Academic All-Big Ten.
Season: Started all 31 games…Averaged 11.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.3 assists per game…Led the team in rebounding (208), steals (97) and blocks (31)...Finished third in scoring (348), assists (129) and made free throws (86)…Shot 43% from the field and 66.7% from the free throw line…Tallied 22 double-digit performances and four double-doubles…Pulled down 10 or more rebounds in six games...Swiped three or more steals in 18 games...Was one of five Division I players to record more than 10 points, five rebounds, and three steals per game…Was one of two Division I players to average more than 10 points, five rebounds, three steals, and one block a game.
Rankings: Finished eighth in the nation with 97 total steals and ranked ninth in steals per game (3.1)…Ranked first in the Big Ten in steals per game (3.1) and total steals (97), seventh in blocks per game (1.0) and total blocks (31), 10th in rebounds per game (6.7), 14th in total rebounds (208), 16th in free throws made (86), 21st in free-throw percentage (.667) and 22nd in assists per game (2.9) and total assists (90).
Norfolk State (11/9): Approached a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds…Made all six three throw attempts. Fairfield (11/11): Filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, a season-high nine steals and eight rebounds. Youngstown State (11/15): Recorded a season-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Bryant (11/18): Tallied 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. vs. Toledo (11/25): Hit the game-winning free throws with less than a second left. vs. Fresno State (11/26): Produced 12 points, six steals and five assists. at Minnesota (12/3): Poured in 18 points, five steals and four assists…Shot an efficient 8-of-10 from the field. Indiana (12/8): Tallied 15 points and eight rebounds. West Virginia (12/11): Registered 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. at Drexel (12/18): Recorded 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Cornell (12/21): Produced 13 points and five boards. Rutgers (12/30): Collected 14 points, six steals and five assists.Purdue (1/7): Notched her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds…Added seven steals and four assists. at Iowa (1/14): Produced 16 points, five rebounds and four steals. Minnesota (1/18): Had an all-around stat line of 10 rebounds, eight points and six steals. Wisconsin (1/22): Recorded 500th career point. at Rutgers (1/26): Collected 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists. at Maryland (1/30): Pulled down 10 boards.Northwestern (2/2): Filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, seven steals, four assists and three blocks. at Michigan State (2/12): Tallied her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ohio State (2/16): Registered her second-straight double-double with another 10-point, 11-rebound performance. at Illinois (2/19): Produced 19 points and eight rebounds. Michigan State (2/25): Recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-best 14 rebounds…Added six assists…Shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Big Ten Tournament vs. Minnesota (3/1): Helped the Lady Lions to a first-round win in the Big Ten Tournament with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Big Ten Tournament vs. Michigan (3/2): Had an all-around stat line of 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks.
2021-22 REDSHIRT FRESHMAN SEASON
Records: Ranked fourth at Penn State in blocks by a freshman (33), tied for seventh in steals by a freshman (59) and ninth in rebounds by a freshman (165).
Awards: Voted Big Ten All-Freshman Team by the coaches…Selected Academic All-Big Ten.
Season: Started all 29 games…Averaged 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game…Tallied 46 assists, 33 blocks and 59 steals…Shot 43 percent from the floor…Collected 16 double-figure games, two games with 20+ points and three double-doubles…Was one of eight Division I players with 30+ blocks and 55+ steals in 2021-22.
Rankings: Ranked third in the Big Ten in blocks per game (1.14)…Held third in the Big Ten in steals per game (2.03) and fourth in total steals (59)…Led Big Ten freshmen in steals, sitting 13thamong all Division I freshmen…Held second among Big Ten freshmen in blocks, ranking 13th among all Division I freshmen.
Rider (11/11): Recorded four points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. vs. St. John’s (11/26): Posted 10 points, scoring all 10 in the fourth quarter. at Boston College (12/2): Notched eight points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Youngstown State (12/12): Earned first career 20-point game on 9-of-14 from the field…Added seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals, earning career highs in assists and blocks. at Maryland (1/6): Tallied 12 points, four rebounds and two steals. Michigan (1/13): Had 17 points and two blocks. Illinois (1/16): Posted 14 points, two blocks and two steals. at Northwestern (1/20): Recorded 15 points to go with eight rebounds and five steals. Michigan State (1/27): Scored 10 points, including six free throws. Maryland (1/30): Notched 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. at Nebraska (2/3): Scored 10 points. Northwestern (2/6): Tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals. at Rutgers (2/13): Posted 23 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, earning PSU’s first double-double by a freshman since Lauren Ebo in 2018…Tied career highs with four assists and five steals. at Ohio State (2/24): Recorded another double-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and two steals. vs. Rutgers (3/2): Notched third career double-double with 16 points, including 9-of-11 at the free throw line, and 13 rebounds…Added a block and three steals.
2020-21 FRESHMAN SEASON
Missed season due to injury.
HIGH SCHOOL
Two-time All-State and three-time All-Conference pick at James Madison Memorial High School who tallied school-record career numbers of 1,230 points, 711 rebounds, 282 steals and 129 assists…Named AP First Team All-State and Wisconsin State Journal Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 18.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals per game and leading James Madison to a Regional Championship…First player in high school’s history to record a triple-double and first 1,000-point scorer in school history…Holds high school single-season records for points (463 in 2019-20), steals (117 in 2019-20), blocks (58 in 2017-18), FG Made (185 in 2019-20), and FG% (54.2%)…Holds single-game record for blocks (9 in 2017-18), FT Made (11 in 2017-18), and FG Made (13 in 2016-17)…Named three-time Team MVP and earned AP Honorable-Mention All-State honors in 2018 in addition to conference Defensive Player of the Year honors…Ranked as the No. 8 player at her position and No. 30 player in the Class of 2020 by ESPN Hoopgurlz…McDonald’s All-America nominee…Plays AAU ball for Wisconsin Flight Elite and earned Adidas USA invitation… Also excelled in track and field, placing in the top ten in the state of Wisconsin in triple jump and being crowned a three-time conference champion in high jump.
PERSONAL
Full name is Leilani Tiana Kapinus…Has one brother and four sisters…Majoring in Kinesiology (Applied Exercise and Health)…Born on June 25, 2002 in Madison, Wis.
WHY PENN STATE?
"I chose Penn State because it has the best coaching staff in the country and the players made me feel welcome. I'm ready to win some national championships."
