Penn State women’s basketball (16-9, 7-7 Big Ten) was defeated by Illinois (12-12, 6-8 Big Ten) 86-71 Thursday night after falling apart in the second half.

The Lady Lions turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 19 points in transition for the Fighting Illini. Five Illinois players scored in double figures, led by 18 from Adalia McKenzie and 17 from Kendall Bostic.

How It Happened

The starting five of Ashley Owusu, Shay Ciezki, Leilani Kapinus, Chanaya Pinto, and Ali Brigham made its way onto the floor, and the game got underway with Illinois’ first possession, which resulted in a Bostic layup.

Brigham answered on the other end with a layup of her own, and Penn State got the ball right back after a Ciezki steal, but Pinto missed the fastbreak layup. Less than a minute later, the Lady Lions forced back-to-back turnovers, both of which turned into easy Kapinus layups.

A threat from both sides of the ball #LionMentality | @leilani_kapinus pic.twitter.com/X4LWIShCoC

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) February 15, 2024

Bostic scored two more, and Owusu got on the board for the first time with a turn-around jumper to make it an 8-4 Penn State lead three minutes in.

Kapinus sent back a Genesis Bryant shot, and Owusu missed a wide-open layup on the run-out. Luckily for Penn State, it was touched by an Illinois defender, and Alli Campbell scored her first bucket from the corner after the inbound.

Bryant stepped into a right-wing three and drilled it to cut the blue and white’s lead back to one, and the game reached its first media timeout with 4:17 left in the first quarter. Immediately after the break, Brigham scored through a foul, but couldn’t convert on the free throw.

Gretchen Dolan hit a triple from the top of the key, and on the following possession, made one from the corner to put the Fighting Illini up by three. Makenna Marisa then drove to the basket, got fouled, and made a layup, but again missed from the line. However, the Lady Lions got the offensive rebound, and Marisa knocked down a three.

Marisa dropped in a fadeaway from 10 feet away, which was answered by Camille Hobby to make the score 19-17. The two teams went back and forth for the final minute of the first frame, which ended with an Adalia McKenzie steal and layup to make the score 22-21 in favor of the Lady Lions.

McKenzie was the first to score after the break to put her team up by a point, but Owusu embraced contact and scored inside to retake the lead. McKenzie then converted on an and-one, scoring seven consecutive points for her team.

Owusu made Penn State’s second three of the game from the right corner, and Makira Cook, who averages over 14 points per game, somehow scored a circus shot over two defenders.

McKenzie continued her impressive night down low, banking in another and-one with 6:34 left in the second quarter to give herself 10 points. Cook made one from the corner while being fouled, and made the free throw to make it an 8-0 run and put Illinois up by seven heading into the media timeout.

After the timeout, Cook rattled in a floater to make it 36-27, and Brigham finally put an end to the 10-0 stretch with an offensive rebound and layup. Pinto hit a top-of-the-key three to make Penn State’s deficit four before Moriah Murray forced a turnover. However, Penn State gave it right back with a minute to go before halftime.

After a long video review, Bostic scored a lefty hook with 14 seconds left in the first half. Murray beat the buzzer for Penn State, and the teams went into their locker rooms with Illinois leading 38-35.

Mo from deep to close out the half! #LionMentality | @murray_moriah pic.twitter.com/UVHRGR7o3G

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) February 15, 2024

Pinto got the second half going by drawing an offensive foul against McKenzie, and Brigham and Kapinus each scored layups to put Penn State back on top. That lead was short-lived as Bostic answered with a jump shot and McKenzie laid it in.

Ciezki tied the game at 42-42 with a corner three, but McKenzie brought her point total to 14 with a runner in the lane. She scored two more down low to extend Illinois’ lead to four, and Shay Bollin put in a second-chance basket to send the game to a media timeout.

Owusu went two-for-two from the charity stripe and scored a finger roll after the stoppage to cut the deficit to two. Bryant and Dolan each splashed in a three, and the Illinois lead was right back to eight with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.

Both teams scored a pair of free throws down the stretch in quarter three, and Bryant ended it with a driving layup just before the buzzer sounded, sending Illinois into the final quarter up 62-51.

Bryant began the fourth quarter by drilling a long-range three from the right wing, and Illinois had its largest lead of the game at 14.

With 6:21 to play, Carolyn Kieger called a timeout down 69-55. A few minutes later, Bostic got her bench fired up when she scored through a foul, making the foul shot, too. With under four to play, she and Cook both made a pair at the line and put their team up by 20.

Marisa continued to fight, laying in an and-one with under two minutes remaining, but on the other end, Hobby was alone for a transition layup to make Illinois’ lead 15 and force a Penn State timeout.

With less than a minute to play, Marisa hit two free throws and Shauna Green called a timeout for the Fighting Illini. Cook then went one-for-two and Kieger called another Penn State timeout. Owusu left a three short, Dolan pulled in the rebound and was fouled, going two-for-two.

After a few fouls by each team, the game concluded with a final score of 86-71, and Illinois left the Bryce Jordan Center with a road win.

Takeaways

• Penn State had several miscues around the rim, missing four layups in the first half and six on the night.
• There was no shortage of threes attempted by the Lady Lions, but they struggled to find consistency, shooting 8-for-28 from distance.
• After winning six games in a row, Penn State has now lost four games in a row. As the postseason inches closer, the blue and white will have to find answers to end this drought.
• Ciezki entered the game averaging 14 points per game, but scored just five and shot two-for-seven in 30 minutes of action.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will search to end their four-game skid when they travel to Maryland at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 18. Penn State blew out the Terrapins 112-76 at home on January 28.