Penn State women’s basketball (8-0) defeated Drexel (2-3) 86-78 in overtime in its return to the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday afternoon.

Turnovers plagued the Lady Lions as Drexel hung in the game despite a strong Penn State first quarter. The Dragons played staunch defense and drained shots to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Gracie Merkle dominated down the stretch with 31 points as the Lady Lions rallied for a strong team win in their most competitive game of the season so far, continuing their undefeated start.

How It Happened

Merkle initiated the scoring with an easy layup in the first minute of the game. After Drexel quickly responded with a mid-ranger of its own, Alli Campbell hit a nice turnaround shot of her own. The Lady Lions put a stop to the Dragons’ next possession, and Moriah Murray cashed in a corner three to put Penn State up 7-2 early in the first quarter.

Murray and Tamera Johnson connected in the paint to top off a 6-0 Penn State run, inflating the lead to nine. The first media timeout arrived with five minutes remaining in the first as the Lady Lions led 16-8.

Drexel forced two turnovers with a full-court press, but unsuccessfully capitalized on the opportunity. The Lady Lions took the ball the other way, and Merkle muscled her way to two points in the paint. Murray collected a strong rebound and set up Campbell for a score in transition. Penn State came up with another stop, allowing Merkle to score in the paint again and force Drexel to call a timeout. Penn State led by a dozen with three minutes left in the first period.

Merkle bodied multiple Dragons in the paint to score right out of the gate after the timeout. She reached double digits with 10 points before the end of the first quarter.

Grace Hall stepped in as Merkle took a breather and immediately collected a layup of her own. Gabby Elliott hit another mid-ranger in transition as Penn State reached the 30-point mark. Murray tried a deep three to end the quarter, but it went wide. The Lady Lions topped Drexel 30-21 after one.

The Dragons forced two quick steals at the beginning of the second quarter and scored in transition to shrink the lead to seven. Merkle cashed two free throws after being fouled. Drexel revisited its full-court press on a Penn State inbound and once again stole the rock and scored in transition, forcing Carolyn Kieger to call a timeout.

Drexel’s Chloe Hodges sunk a three after the timeout, chipping the lead to four. Campbell responded immediately with a gritty bucket under the rim. Elliott snuck in another cool mid-ranger to give Penn State some breathing room with an eight-point lead.

Mo Ace

7:47 Q2 | 34-28 Penn State #LionMentality | @alli_campbell21 | @murray_moriah pic.twitter.com/7x3pPQuoIP

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) November 27, 2024

Hodges cashed in another triple after Shaelyn Steele missed from beyond the arc, cutting the lead down to three. Murray muscled her way through the baseline and scored, restoring the lead to four after another Drexel make.

Murray committed a double dribble, gifting Drexel another possession. Amaris Baker hit a three to make it a one-point game. Jayla Oden quickly responded with a jumper to make it 41-38.

Merkle worked through contact in back-to-back possessions to create a 6-0 run for Penn State. Hodges splashed another triple in an automatic response as both teams continued to exchange buckets.

Campbell missed a jumper on Penn State’s end and Hodges made a layup, tying the game at 45 with just over a minute left in the half.

Merkle faked out two Dragons in the paint to score and put herself at 19 points in the first half. Elliott fought through contact for a tough rebound after Merkle missed a rare layup, representing the final score of the first half. Drexel stormed back after Penn State distanced itself in the first quarter, with the halftime score being 49-45 in the Lady Lions’ favor.

Merkle and Campbell quickly connected in the paint for a score to start off the second half. Merkle collected a defensive rebound and Oden cashed in a wide-open mid-ranger to put the Lady Lions back on top by eight.

Drexel’s Cara McCormack stroked in a three on its next possession, once again cutting the lead to five. Merkle took a foul and made one free throw to put her points total up to 20 early in the third quarter.

Hodges once again rattled in a three against a sleepy Lady Lions defense to cut Penn State’s lead to one at 58-57. Kieger called a timeout.

Johnson committed a charge right out of the timeout, gifting Drexel a possession with the chance to take the lead. Hall rejected a layup attempt, and after both teams exchanged steals once again, Johnson spun around for a score in the paint.

Elliott collected a steal on Drexel’s next possession. She passed it to Murray, who sprinted the other way with the ball towards the cup. Murray went down after an awkward step and walked off with trainers, only under a fraction of her own power midway through the third quarter. Oden replaced Murray after a media timeout.

Penn State committed a series of turnovers, but Drexel didn’t capitalize with points the other way. Hall finally halted the scoreless drought with a layup to put the Lady Lions up five once again.

GRACE HALL

2:09 Q3 | 64-59 Penn State #LionMentality | @grace_hall30 pic.twitter.com/xVtVhvVJUV

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) November 27, 2024

Campbell picked out Oden behind the three-point line for a wide-open look, but Oden couldn’t sink it.

Merkle re-entered the game and immediately cashed in another shot off the backboard. Penn State held steady with a 66-61 lead at the end of the third period.

Both teams continued to exchange the turnover bug through the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Johnson made one of her two free throws after being fouled as the Lady Lions led 68-63 with seven minutes remaining.

Drexel drained a three coming out of the media timeout, slashing Penn State’s lead to two. The Dragons knotted the game up at 68 with a layup of their own. Campbell missed a mid-range jumper, and Baker splashed in a triple to take the lead for the first time on the day with five minutes left.

Merkle made two free throws to cut the deficit to one. Hall blocked Drexel’s shot going the other way, and Campbell scooped up the ball. Johnson let a three loose, but the shot wavered off target by a mile. Penn State forced another turnover but once again did not capitalize.

Drexel started to drain the clock and paid for it. Penn State forced it to shoot a bad shot as the shot clock narrowed down. Merkle collected the rebound and passed it up to Elliott, who scored under the rim to put Penn State back on top 72-71. Steele found Merkle in the paint on the next possession. Merkle jumped up and lofted the ball into the net to restore Penn State’s lead to three with just over a minute remaining.

Drexel’s Grace O’Neill cashed in a three coming out of its timeout to tie the game once again. Steele airballed a three after Kieger’s timeout as Drexel retook possession. Campbell disrupted a sure-fire make, leaving the game tied as Penn State took the ball with 25 seconds left. Kieger called another timeout as the Lady Lions searched for the killing blow.

Johnson took the ball. She passed it to Campbell, who set Johnson back up with a deep two. The shot just fell short and bounced off the rim as Drexel rebounded. Six-tenths of a second remained for the Dragons to work with. Drexel missed the three after the inbound as the game went into overtime.

Merkle broke the overtime deadlock with an and-one off of an offensive rebound.

YES GRACIE

3:28 OT | 77-74 Penn State #LionMentality | @GracieMerkle pic.twitter.com/KyGO6dmIHX

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) November 27, 2024

The Lady Lions played tough defense and forced a Drexel miss. Campbell took the ball the other way and put a floater in to extend the lead to five. Penn State stopped another Drexel offensive possession. Oden danced around with the ball and drew a foul. She only cashed one of her free throws.

Baker scored quickly off the inbound of the board. Elliott responded with a jumper to keep Penn State’s distance at six. Baker clapped back with another shot off the board. Elliott went up for a clutch rebound and board on the other end as the Lady Lions bench erupted. Baker committed a charge and gifted Penn State a renewed possession with a minute left in overtime.

Merkle drew a foul with 30 seconds left after scrapping with multiple Dragons on the board. She drained her two clutch free throws to put Penn State up eight and elevate herself to a staggering 31 points. Drexel missed a three and the Lady Lions dribbled it out for the win.

Takeaways

• Penn State committed 22 turnovers on the day. Drexel capitalized off of these mistakes, scoring 19 points off of turnovers.
• The Lady Lions struggled from the free throw line. They went 15-for-21 at 71% for the game, creating a lot of uncertainty near the end of the game. The missed points added up and created a lack of insurance for Penn State to work with down the stretch.
• Merkle dropped her first 30-point game of the season, finishing with 31. Merkle continued to be the forefront of Penn State’s offense, and she will play an even more pivotal role going forward pending the severity of Murray’s injury.

What’s Next?

Penn State returns to action at 7 p.m. on Monday, December 2, to take on St. John’s at the Bryce Jordan Center. The matchup serves as the annual Wear White game, and folks can watch live on the Big Ten Network.