Penn State women’s basketball (13-11, 4-9 Big Ten) was thrashed 95-51 by No. 6 Iowa (19-4, 11-1 Big Ten) on Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center. The contest was the second time in the 2022-2023 season that the Lady Lions were blown out by the Hawkeyes.

Sunday was also Penn State’s Pink Zone game, which benefits breast cancer patients and honors survivors.

How It Happened

Despite a weak start on offense, Penn State began the game even with Iowa. Through the first three minutes of play, the Lady Lions were tied with the Hawkeyes at seven points apiece and had stayed strong on defense.

However, Iowa started to run away with the game after the first media timeout. The Hawkeyes went on a 10-2 run to end the quarter, putting themselves up 19-9.

Penn State put together a stronger effort at the start of the second quarter but was still outscored 9-6 by the Hawkeyes in the opening five minutes of action.

Iowa continued to run away with the game in the back half of the second quarter. Before the first half was finished, it became clear that the Hawkeyes’ 20-point lead wouldn’t fade away. By the time the two teams went into the locker rooms, Penn State was down 46-22.

It took under four minutes into the second half for Iowa’s lead to reach 30-points; the Hawkeyes went up 59-29 with a Caitlin Clark three-point play.

From there, Iowa’s lead only continued to grow, while the Lady Lions allowed the Hawkeyes to put together multiple highlight-reel plays. Iowa’s bench represented the Hawkeyes on the floor, though Penn State continued to play its starters. All the same, the Lady Lions were into the fourth quarter down 77-40.

It took just a few seconds of the fourth quarter for Iowa’s lead to reach 40 points. At this point in the game, Clark was the only Hawkeye who started the game to continue to play, as Iowa presumably wanted to boost the stats of the Wooden Award finalist.

Penn State’s play improved slightly after Clark exited the floor with 3:38 left in the game, but the Lady Lions didn’t make up any significant difference en route to a 95-51 loss.

Takeaways:

• Defense wins championships, but only if there’s an offense to go along with it. Penn State allowing Iowa to put up 95 points was an issue, but not as much as the team’s inability to score more than 51. The Lady Lions also shot just 27.4% from the field and 24% from beyond the arc.
• A few days after the Lady Lions’ win over Northwestern, Sunday’s performance was a reminder that Penn State is still ways away from competing with the best in the Big Ten… and the NCAA. While the 2022-2023 season is the best season that Penn State has had in a few years, the Lady Lions just aren’t able to challenge the best.

What’s Next?

Penn State has a full week off before it takes on Michigan State on the road at 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 12. The game will be available to stream on BTN+.