No. 13-seeded Penn State women’s basketball (14-16, 5-15 Big Ten) suffered a heartbreaking loss to No. 5-seeded Michigan (21-8, 12-7 Big Ten) in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Coming off a win against Minnesota, the Lady Lions gave it their all but couldn’t outlast Michigan’s bench unit.

How It Happened

In the first quarter, Makenna Marisa and Chanaya Pinto started strong and scored from three. The Wolverines were giving it right back, as the score was 6-7 in favor of the Wolverines. Penn State’s defense was on display as Pinto managed to record two steals which led to the Lady Lions tying the game 10-10.

Rebounding was a big issue during this quarter for Penn State, as Michigan made it 14-12. Seven of those points came from second chances. The last play of the quarter was a steal by Leilani Kapinus, which led to a Marisa layup, resulting in another tie of 14-14.

The beginning of the second quarter led to more elite defense by Kapinus, making Michigan turnover the ball for the seventh time. Anna Camden scored from three in the possession, giving Penn State the lead 17-16. Kapinus scored her first points of the game extending the Lady Lions’ lead to 21-18.

Pinto kept on scoring to make it 25-21 with her seventh point of the game. Some more back and forth between both teams let Michigan claw its way back. Penn State still led 29-28. With the last play of the half, Michigan scored at the buzzer and led 30-29.

Yet again, the third quarter started off with both teams trading points. Michigan held a slight lead 35-33. Camden scored from three by a good kick out, breaking the Wolverines’ zone defense to make the score 38-37. Some more poor offensive possessions by the Lady Lions gave Michigan the lead in the middle of the quarter 41-40.

Kapinus’ fourth steal of the night and a layup gave Penn State the lead again 42-41. The bench unit was held scoreless up until this point. Kapinus kept giving the Lady Lions the lead.

Michigan scored some more free throws taking back the lead late in the quarter. Penn State responded immediately with a Marisa layup to tie it 50-50. Right as the buzzer went off, the Wolverines scored a mid-range shot to end the quarter 52-50.

In the fourth quarter, Marisa started the scoring with a mid-ranger to tie it up again 52-52. Some poor defense by the Lady Lions let Michigan take a six-point lead with the score at 58-52. Kapinus recorded her fifth steal of the night, but the Lady Lions failed to score with 4:34 on the clock.

Penn State ended its scoring drought after five minutes with a tough layup by Alexa Williamson, cutting the lead to 61-54. The Lady Lions only managed to score four points in the quarter with two minutes left. Some good stops by Penn State led to ball possession and a layup by Williamson to cut the lead to 63-59 with 40 seconds left.

Another layup by Kapinus cut the lead of the Wolverines even more with the score at 63-61 with 14 seconds left. Michigan had possession. Excellent defense by Penn State forced a jump ball in its favor with 12 seconds on the clock. With the last play of the game, Marisa got the ball, but the Wolverines’ defense forced a tough shot as Penn State lost 63-61.

Takeaways

• Michigan’s bench unit outscored Penn State 24-0. Considering the game was so close until the very end, some offensive production by the Lady Lions’ bench could have made the difference.
• Shay Ciezki’s injury affected the Lady Lions’ dramatically, especially in the stretch when they needed some offensive production. Her absence was glaring.
• Penn State held its own and hustled. It went head-to-head with a higher-seeded team in the division and almost took it home.

What’s Next?

After a run to the second round in the Big Ten Tournament, the Lady Lions season is likely over. All they can hope for right now is a women’s NIT bid.