Penn State women’s basketball (10-5, 1-3 Big Ten) fell short to No. 14 Indiana (14-1, 5-0 Big Ten) 75-67 Wednesday night. Despite having four players with double-digit points, the Nittany Lions fell short in a scrappy battle as Indiana’s Sydney Parrish took over late in the ball game.

How It Happened 

Penn State got on the board first with a quick bucket in the paint from Ali Brigham, but Indiana answered back with a 7-0 run fueled by a step-back three from Sara Scalia. Brigham got another shot in the paint to drop, cutting down the Indiana lead to three.

Both squads went cold midway through the first quarter, as turnovers and missed shots began to pile up. Makenna Marisa got herself on the board, navigating through the lane and putting up a flashy finish to move the score to 9-6. A three from Shay Ciezki that came off of an inbound from Brigham tied the ball game at 11-11.

Penn State struggled to play clean defense early on, as it sent Indiana into the bonus with 1:04 remaining in the first quarter. A steal and score from Leilani Kapinus put Penn State up 21-17 to end the first 10 minutes of play.

Makenna Marisa straight to the basket for TWO pic.twitter.com/cOMlSzE6zJ

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) January 11, 2024

The Nittany Lions picked up right where they left off, turning the ball over, which sparked an Indiana fast break as Scalia was fouled and sent to the line. Brigham continued her night in the paint as she knocked down a turnaround fade, bringing her to eight points. A ferocious block from Chanaya Pinto on the defensive end gave Penn State the ball back, and Kapinus bullied her way into the paint and got a layup to fall, giving the Lady Lions a 25-24 lead.

Kapinus found success at getting into the paint again but was fouled and sent to the line where she missed both shot attempts. Scrappy defense was being played and scoring was hard to come by for both teams.

Specifically, Indiana was defending the interior well after giving up multiple buckets early on. Finally, Kapinus hammered her way through the smothering Indiana interior defense and got a basket to fall.

The Lady Lions closed out the first half in dominant fashion, as they forced a stop on the defensive end and advanced the ball up the court where a deep, buzzer-beating three from Ciezki put them up 39-34, swinging all the momentum in their favor.

COUNT THAT AT THE BUZZER

Lady Lions by FIVE at the half pic.twitter.com/l870EXYe4N

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) January 11, 2024

Brigham got a layup from under the net to fall fresh out of the half. A steal from Kapinus translated into a trip to the line for Pinto, who was fouled during her attack on the fast break. The success on fastbreaks began to fuel Penn State’s offense, and Ciezki went coast to coast and cashed in two for the Lady Lions who built a 6-0 scoring run over the Hoosiers.

Parrish had seen enough, and she decided to take over on the offensive side of the ball, scoring on back-to-back possessions that jumpstarted the crowd.

Parrish knocked down her first three of the night, and then a Lady Lion turnover sparked an Indiana fastbreak. Parrish was fouled and sent to the line where she knocked down both free throws, giving Indiana a 46-45 lead.

Indiana led 53-51 with just under a minute to play in the third quarter. Taylor Valladay slashed down the baseline but couldn’t get her reverse layup to fall, resulting in a defensive rebound for the Hoosiers. Lexus Bargesser sent a full-court pass flying down to an open Scalia who dropped it in the cup for an easy bucket, putting Indiana up 55-51 at the end of the third.

Fortunately for the Lady Lions, the red-hot Parrish missed a wide-open three as time began to tick down in the fourth. Kapinus began working her way into the paint, drawing a foul, and knocking down one of her two free throws to make it a 55-52 ball game in favor of Indiana.

The Hoosiers began to build momentum as they were supplementing their offense with fastbreaks from the turnovers they were forcing on the defensive end. Parrish, who was fouled in transition, cashed in one of her two shots.

Penn State’s Grace Hall nabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back up for a second-chance score, but Parrish responded with a well-timed triple that put the Hoosiers up 63-54. Hall went back to work on the block, scooping a shot up and in for a Lady Lions bucket, but Indiana refused to relent, as Mackenzie Holmes converted an and-one opportunity to grow the 66-56 Hoosier lead.

The Lady Lions got multiple defensive stops down the stretch but ultimately couldn’t convert any of them into successful offensive possessions. With time no longer on their side, nothing was falling for them. Hall continued her strong night with a block on Indiana’s Chloe Moore-McNeil. Valladay was then fouled hard, getting both free throws to fall shortly after.

A late jumper from Makenna Marisa cut down Indiana’s 71-65 lead, but the game had already been decided as time was scarce. Parrish went back to the line where she dropped in her 19th and 20th points of the night, putting Indiana up 75-67. The last desperate grasp for air from the Lady Lions resulted in a Ciezki airball as time expired.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions’ offense seemed to be out of sync throughout much of the night, as the unit ended the game with 22 turnovers.
• Makenna Marisa wasn’t her usual scoring machine self in her first game back from injury. She finished 2-5 with six points, three assists, and three rebounds. Penn State dearly missed her scoring ability throughout the night.
• Missed free-throw opportunities really hurt the Lady Lions tonight. Going 12-23 in a point loss was a major factor in the outcome of the game.

What’s Next?

Penn State will head back on the road to play Rutgers at 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 14. Folks can stream the game on BTN+.