Penn State women’s basketball (13-12, 4-10 Big Ten) lost 81-75 in an overtime battle to Michigan State (13-12, 5-9 Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon. It was the team’s fourth overtime loss of the season and second-straight loss.

How It Happened

Both teams started with a fast-paced offense, combining for six possessions in the first two minutes as the Lady Lions took a 4-3 lead.

Michigan State briefly took over the game, going on a 9-2 run over a three-minute period, before Penn State brought the game back to 12-12 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Both sides scored five points to end the quarter and went into the break tied at 17-17.

The Spartans began the second quarter with a nine-point run spanning over four minutes before Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger called a timeout. Kieger’s timeout generated a scoring run for the Lady Lions; led by strong shooting from beyond the arc, Penn State took a 28-26 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the half.

While the Lady Lions minimized Michigan State’s offense for over three minutes, it ended up being Penn State who struggled offensively at the end of the first half. Penn State scored just once in the last two and a half minutes and went into the locker room down 34-31.

After a back-and-forth first half, Michigan State began the second half with plenty of momentum. The Spartans went on a 10-2 run in the first three and a half minutes, forcing Penn State to call another timeout down 44-33.

The timeout didn’t help the Lady Lions’ cause, and after another two minutes, Penn State called another timeout 52-39 as it struggled to regain control of the game. However, this time the timeout worked, and the Lady Lions went on a 12-0 run in the last four minutes of the third quarter and went into the break trailing 52-51.

Penn State hung even with the hosts early in the fourth quarter. Neither offense went on a game-changing run but kept the game tight.

The Lady Lions took their first lead of the fourth quarter with 3:29 remaining in the game, going up 64-62. That lead didn’t hold, as the Spartans tied the game two minutes later, and held a 67-66 lead with under a minute remaining in the game.

Michigan State had a chance to nearly close the game with 16 seconds left but missed two free throws and a follow-up shot. When Leilani Kapinus grabbed a rebound, Michigan State’s Matilda Ekh swung for the ball and missed, Penn State took the ball on the other end with 12.9 seconds left.

With eight seconds left, Kapinus earned two shots at the line, making one of them. With 6.6 seconds remaining, Michigan State had the ball with the score at 67-67. The Spartans were unable to capitalize, and the game went into overtime.

Scoring was not plentiful in overtime. Through the first three minutes, Penn State scored three points, slightly more than Michigan State’s two points.

Shay Ciezki led the way on offense for the Lady Lions. She scored the first five points for Penn State in overtime, taking leads both times. However, when she took the ball down the court with a minute left, Penn State was down 74-72 after a three-point play by Spartan DeeDee Hagemann. Another three-point play from Moira Joiner finished off the Lady Lions.

Despite a late effort from Penn State, the Spartans marched on to an 81-75 win.

Takeaways:

• Late-quarter runs kept Penn State alive in this matchup. Strong offense at the end of the second and third quarters was massive for taking the game to the very end and gave the Lady Lions their best chance at winning on the road so far this season.
• While Penn State has been struggling to shoot as of late, it really stepped up its game against the Spartans. After averaging 43% from the field this year, the Lady Lions shot 52.6% from the field.
• Across four games that went to overtime this season, Penn State hasn’t won once. The Lady Lions continue to struggle both on the road and in late-game situations.

What’s Next?

Penn State will return home to face No. 13 Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 16. The matchup will be streamed on BTN+.