Penn State women’s basketball (11-7, 2-5 Big Ten) suffered a blowout 108-67 loss to No. 12 Iowa (14-4, 6-1 Big Ten) Saturday afternoon.

The loss came after the Lady Lions were blown out by Nebraska a few days prior, as the team continues to struggle to adjust to Big Ten play.

How It Happened

Makenna Marisa led off the scoring in her 100th career start, though, Iowa responded with seven straight points in the opening two minutes to lead 7-2.

Less than two minutes later, head coach Carolyn Kieger called the game’s first timeout after that scoreline doubled. With 6:13 left in the first quarter, Iowa led 14-4.

The timeout didn’t help. While Penn State’s shooting slowly improved, the Lady Lions couldn’t slow down the Hawkeyes. Iowa led 34-15 while making 75% of its field goals and 50% of its three-point shots.

Both teams’ offenses were slow to begin the second quarter. Iowa scored the only three points of the opening three minutes, while Penn State didn’t score until nearly four minutes through the quarter. The Lady Lions continued to get outplayed by the Hawkeyes.

Iowa’s shooting percentages began to even out, though, Penn State was still getting hurt from beyond the arc. Shay Ciezki recorded the team’s only made three-point shot at the end of the first quarter, and Penn State going 0-7 in the second quarter wasn’t improving the scoreline.

The Lady Lions weren’t able to flip the script on the game for the entirety of the second quarter and went into the locker room at halftime down 57-29.

Kieger put her best lineup on the floor to start the second half, but the team’s struggles continued. Kieger called a timeout less than two minutes after her defense allowed eight points in quick order.

The third quarter wasn’t any different than the first half, as a game that was already far gone continued to fall out of reach. Penn State still couldn’t keep up with one of the top teams in the country as it entered the fourth quarter down 83-45.

Iowa cruised through the fourth quarter. Despite the scoreline, both teams played their starters and put together a solid effort. Still, Iowa reached its 100th point just over halfway through the quarter, while Penn State had only scored 58.

Iowa finished the game out calmly, taking down the Lady Lions 108-67 in Penn State’s worst loss of the season thus far.

Takeaways

• While Penn State has struggled in the last two games, Taniyah Thompson has started to stand out as an important bench player. She scored a combined 21 points against Nebraska and Iowa, the second-most on the team.
• This wasn’t an offensive or defensive loss — it was both. Penn State couldn’t defend Iowa’s shooting and couldn’t shoot at remotely the clip needed to keep it in a game with a normal scoreline. Kieger and her coaching staff will have plenty to tweak when they get home, to say the least.
• Speaking of heading back home, a stretch of two home games will be important for the Lady Lions next week. The Lady Lions will have time to work through their errors and come back ready to make a strong push in Big Ten play.

What’s Next

Penn State will return to the Bryce Jordan Center to face Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18.