Penn State women’s basketball (7-19, 1-14 Big Ten) could not complete the upset against no. 10 Maryland (22-4, 13-2 Big Ten), despite an impressive first half effort.

Per usual, Kamaria McDaniel led the way for the Nittany Lions, finishing with 22 points and 6 assists. An impressive performance from the junior wasn’t enough to take care of the Terrapins, however, as yet another third quarter collapse from Penn State proved to be the deciding factor.

How It Happened

Carolyn Kieger decided to mix the starting five up a bit, featuring forwards Alisia Smith and Lauren Ebo along with guards Siyeh Frazier, Makenna Marisa, and Kamaria McDaniel.

The Terrapins struck early, converting an easy layup in the opening seconds, but Penn State responded by scoring on back-to-back possessions and taking a 4-2 lead. The Nittany Lions kept the momentum going into the first media timeout, holding down a 10-6 lead.

Maryland found its footing coming out of the first media timeout, going on a 8-0 run in just under two minutes. McDaniel was finally able to break the Nittany Lions’ scoring drought by splitting a pair of free throws and assisting an Alisia Smith layup on the following possessions, making it a 14-13 game in Maryland’s favor. Penn State mostly matched Maryland’s energy for the rest of the quarter, trailing only 26-22 at the buzzer.

Both teams kept fighting early in the second quarter, but a handful of sloppy offensive possessions from Penn State gave Maryland some separation early. However, Penn State was able to respond with three balls from Anna Camden and Shay Hagans, cutting the Nittany Lions’ deficit to just 34-30 heading into the media timeout.

Penn State came out of the media timeout with incredible energy, and finished off a gritty half down just 46-45, and even held a small lead after a 13-2 run. The Nittany Lions shot a very impressive 61% from the field, 43% from three, and 80% from the stripe in the first quarter.

Penn State started the second half with the ball, but Siyeh Frazier couldn’t get the jumper to fall and Maryland responded with three quick baskets. The Terrapins took a quick 52-45 lead, forcing Kieger to call a timeout. The Nittany Lions couldn’t stabilize things coming out of the timeout, letting Maryland take a 61-48 lead at the midway point in the quarter.

Maryland kept its foot on the gas pedal through the rest of the third quarter, taking a 78-56 lead at the buzzer. The Terrapins were quick to respond to any offensive spark from Penn State, knocking down 70% of their shots from the field throughout the quarter. The Nittany Lions were only able to convert 21% of their shots from the field in the third, letting Maryland create quite a bit of separation.

Penn State was not able to recover from its third half collapse, letting Maryland escape Happy Valley with a 106-69 victory. The Nittany Lions shot just 25% from the field and 13% from three in the second half.

Takeaways

• Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but a third quarter collapse was the story of the game for the Lady Lions yet again. Despite only trailing by a point to the No. 10 Terrapins at the half, Penn State let things get away from them in the third quarter, trailing 78-56 at the buzzer.
• Losing 11 straight isn’t an easy thing to stomach, but Penn State has continued to fight game-in and game-out during its losing stretch. Even when down by double digits late, the Nittany Lions fight on and continue to try and improve as a team, something which will hopefully prove helpful for a young team in the coming years.

What’s Next

Penn State will travel to Iowa and take on the No. 17 Hawkeyes this Saturday, February 22. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on BTN+.