Penn State women’s basketball (4-7, 1-6 Big Ten) fell short to Big Ten foe Minnesota (4-7, 3-6 Big Ten) Monday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. Head coach Carolyn Kieger’s squad missed some important shots down the stretch and had a total of 16 turnovers in the loss.

Makenna Marisa and Johnasia Cash led Penn State’s offensive efforts, racking up an impressive 25 and 22 points, respectively. Cash also added 15 rebounds and had a major presence in the paint throughout the game.

What Happened

After winning the opening tipoff, Cash got things going early for Penn State with a layup in the paint. Marisa nailed a jumper from the elbow a possession later, but Minnesota answered back by going 2-for-2 from three-point range on its first two possessions to jump out to an early 6-4 lead.

The Golden Gophers expanded the lead to six about a minute later, but Marisa managed to dribble her way in the paint for for a bucket that seemed to kickstart the Lady Lion offense.

However, after head coach Carolyn Kieger’s squad tied the game at 10 with six minutes to go in the quarter, Minnesota proceeded to go on a 7-0 offensive run in the span of a minute and 30 seconds.

Following the first timeout of the ballgame, Penn State shook things up with some zone defense and managed to go on a 7-0 run of its own. A Tova Sabel three-pointer tied the game at 17 and gave the team some much-needed momentum. A few possessions later, Marisa forced a steal and assisted Niya Beverly with an easy layup to continue to push the pace on the floor.

The Golden Gophers answered back, and were able to secure a two-point advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.

The beginning of the next quarter consisted of a sloppy stretch of basketball for Penn State. The Lady Lions’ defense gave up a quick five points and had an unforced turnover in the first minute.

Cash answered back on the offensive end with a three-point play to turn the momentum back to Penn State. Marisa sank a three-pointer about 40 seconds later to cut the deficit to two, and a steal and layup by Sabel on the next possession evened the score at 27.

Freshman Maddie Burke took a charge at the 4:54 mark that translated into an Anna Camden three-ball on the other end of the floor. And with a little over three minutes to go in the half, Cash converted yet another three-point play to give Penn State a 35-32 lead.

Then, things started to get sloppy again for the Lady Lions. Offensive fouls, missed layups, and careless turnovers allowed Minnesota to climb right back into the game and retake a 41-39 lead at halftime — despite Burke’s buzzer-beater layup.

In the second half, Cash converted a bucket on the first possession to immediately even the score at 41. Marisa then hit two three-pointers in the following minutes to help Penn State jump out to a 47-41 lead.

The Golden Gophers cut the deficit to one-point with a little under six minutes to go in the quarter and forced a steal and fastbreak layup at the 4:28 mark to gain a one-point advantage over the Lady Lions. The two teams then exchanged buckets in a stretch of back-and-forth action, before Burke hit back-to-back three pointers to help Penn State break away from Minnesota and retake a 60-53 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Offensively, Penn State seemed to come out with a bang at the beginning of the fourth, quickly increasing the lead to 10 thanks to a Sabel three-pointer. But both teams started to hit their shots at the same time and the Golden Gophers ultimately crept back to within two points with a little over six and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Following a Penn State timeout, both teams went scoreless for about two minutes until the Golden Gophers finally converted a three-point basket to retake a 68-67 lead. Cash answered back with a dominant layup, but Minnesota managed to work its way to the free-throw line to expand its lead back to three.

With about three minutes left in the ballgame, Marisa converted a clutch three-point play to tie the game at 72, but Minnesota immediately responded with a bucket of its own.

The Nittany Lion defense then forced a Minnesota turnover a few possessions later, but Penn State was unable to capitalize on this play and ended up giving the ball right back to the Golden Gophers.

In the final minutes of the game, Minnesota made the shots (with the help of some Penn State turnovers) and expanded its lead to six with about a minute to go. The Golden Gophers were able to ease out the game from the free-throw line and ultimately halt the Lady Lions’ comeback efforts by securing a 85-76 victory.

Takeaways

• Kelly Jekot’s absence was evident on both ends of the floor for the Lady Lions Monday night. The veteran transfer from Villanova previously led Penn State in scoring with 15.9 points per game and served as a major threat on the glass by averaging 6.8 rebounds an outing. Although Marisa and Cash definitely stepped up to the challenge, some of the other players visibly struggled. Camden shot a mere 1-for-6 from field-goal range, while Burke shot 3-for-13. In all, Cash and Marisa made up 61% of the offense for Penn State. Other players are going to need to step up and help fill the void if Kieger’s squad wants to win without its star player going forward.
• Consistency is a major problem for Penn State. It seems like every time the Lady Lions manage to go on a run, they crumble and fall apart. For example, it’s hard to forget that Penn State had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but let that slip away in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, no lead is safe with the way the Lady Lions are currently playing.
• Camden needs to put in some work in the paint. The sophomore forward missed some key layups Monday night, leading to a visibly disappointed and angry Carolyn Kieger. Camden also only tallied two rebounds, which isn’t quite enough for a starting forward on a Big Ten team.

What’s Next

The Lady Lions will travel to Urbana, Illinois Thursday, January 28 for a matchup against the Fighting Illini. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.