Penn State women’s basketball (4-5, 0-1 Big Ten) dropped its Big Ten opener 70-40 against No. 10 Indiana (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten) Monday night.

Makenna Marisa did everything she could to keep the Lady Lions in the game, but Indiana was too hot from distance and on the boards for Carolyn Kieger’s lineup to compete. The Hoosiers’ lineup was fast, well-conditioned, and working with a home-court advantage. Penn State’s 22 turnovers were a huge factor in the Lady Lions’ brutal loss.

How It Happened

Kieger rolled out her sturdy starting five against the ranked Hoosier squad.

Our starters tonight! 15 minutes away from tipoff in our Big Ten Opener at No. 10 Indiana!

Big Ten Network
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— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 6, 2021

Kelly Jekot and Shay Hagans made early appearances, as they’ve proven to be sparks off the bench.

The Hoosiers won the tipoff and went straight to the basket for the first two points of the game. After a shot clock malfunction in the Lady Lions’ first possession, Marisa sunk a basket, followed by two jump shots inside the arc. Marisa’s efforts created a 6-0 run for the Nittany Lions in the first quarter. Marisa certainly came to play, folks.

Regardless of the back-and-forth buckets between the two squads, the Lady Lions’ defense was looking extremely fast-paced against the Hoosiers. Kieger’s lineup forced five turnovers during the first ten minutes of play, however, the Hoosiers were outshooting the Lady Lions. Ultimately, the first quarter wrapped up with a score of 18-13 in favor of Indiana.

The Hoosiers started to find their rhythm in the second quarter and were finding the basket much more consistently than in the prior quarter. Marisa was making it happen for the Lady Lions with 13 points midway through the second quarter, but the Hoosiers’ scoring was much more consistent across their lineup.

Maddie Burke was the first Lady Lion other than Marisa and Ali Brigham to find the basket in the second quarter. Nyam Thornton followed Burke shortly after to put up another two points and shoot some life into the Lady Lions’ offense during Marisa’s short stint on the bench.

Indiana’s Nicole Cardaño-Hillary proved to be a huge threat to Kieger’s defense and finished the first half with twelve points, shooting 75% from deep. Marisa put up similar numbers with 13 points in the first half, but the Lady Lions trailed 37-21 as they headed into the locker room.

Anna Camden lit up the court out of break with a three-pointer from distance. After that basket, though, the Lady Lions suffered a scoring drought. Midway through the third quarter, the Nittany Lions were still stuck at 24 points.

The Hoosiers continued to pull away as a result of several Penn State turnovers. The Lady Lions were still playing a fast-paced, two-three zone defense, but Indiana was able to exploit the defense and continue their 19-0 third-quarter run.

Despite Indiana’s massive lead, head coach Teri Moren barely adjusted her lineup and kept her foot on the gas. Her five remained relatively consistent throughout the game despite a 30-point lead. Kieger’s crew closed out the third quarter down 60-30.

The fourth quarter was similar to the third in that the Lady Lions couldn’t get any offense brewing, causing the momentum to be in favor of the Hoosiers for all of the second half. Marisa recorded her 19th point at the midway point of the fourth quarter, whereas every other Nittany Lion hadn’t broken five points.

Marisa seemingly got the wind knocked out of her with three minutes left in the game. She caught her breath on the bench, but returned to the floor with one minute left. Without her, the Lady Lions only scored four points in the final minutes of the game. The final score was 70-40 in favor of Indiana.

Takeaways

• Makenna Marisa can’t do it all, folks. She put up great numbers in the first half and posed a serious threat to the Hoosiers’ defense early on. However, as the game dragged on, Marisa slowed down because she wasn’t receiving the help she needed from her teammates. She finished the game with 21 points. Brigham had the most points behind Marisa with eight.
• Ali Brigham was unusually quiet tonight. She posted only eight points and four rebounds. Brigham can make a serious impact on the court, but it’s clear Monday night wasn’t her best performance.
• Carolyn Kieger just recorded her fourth straight loss and first conference loss of the season. The Lady Lions looked tired in the second half and obviously couldn’t keep up with the ranked opponent. This record doesn’t bode well for the remainder of the season, as the competition will only become tougher within the Big Ten.

What’s Next

The Lady Lions will return to Happy Valley on Thursday to face Rutgers at the Bryce Jordan Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and it can be streamed on BTN+.