Penn State women’s basketball (8-1) lost its first game of the season to St. John’s (7-1) 72-67 in the Wear White game at the Bryce Jordan Center on Monday night.

The Lady Lions failed to create an offensive groove in the first half as they committed turnover after turnover due to the Red Storm’s stifling defense. Penn State pulled the game back within three in the fourth quarter after going down by 11, but St. John’s created more defensive plays in crunch time.

Jayla Oden starred down the stretch, but her efforts couldn’t push the Lady Lions over the Red Storm. Penn State dropped its first game of the season and first against a non-conference opponent at home since December 2022.

How It Happened

St. John’s drew first blood as former Penn State player Kylie Lavelle scored a layup after Penn State started the game off 0-3 from the field. Moriah Murray responded with a mid-ranger to tie it up two minutes in.

Oden elevated and blocked a St. John’s shooting attempt near the rim. Murray tested the three from near the logo, but it didn’t fall. Red Storm leading scorer Lashae Dwyer collected two quick steals for back-to-back fast break layups to give St. John’s the early 6-2 lead.

Both teams exchanged misses before Murray picked out Gabby Elliott in the corner, who drained a three to put the Lady Lions within one.

Gabby nails it

3:45 Q1 | 8-7 St. John's #LionMentality pic.twitter.com/dXEO11d0bn

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 3, 2024

The pace started to pick up as St. John’s rattled in a three to go up 13-12 with two minutes left in the first quarter. Oden clapped back with a triple of her own, continuing her hot start to the game.

Shaelyn Steele worked her way into the paint and put in a gritty layup. St. John’s missed going the other way, and Murray facilitated and lofted a ball up to Gracie Merkle, who calmly laid it in at the buzzer. The score capped a 3-3 field goal run at the end of the first quarter, putting the Lady Lions on top 19-15.

St. John’s Ari Vanderhoop cashed in a three to start the second period. Elliott sunk another three in retaliation, but Oden committed a charge, erasing it. Vanderhoop went the other way and drained another shot from beyond the arc. Oden responded on a fast break and laid the ball in to knot the game 21-21.

Lavelle converted a three-point play and Alli Campbell hit a deep two. Vanderhoop tried the three again but missed. Murray and Merkle connected once more in the paint as Merkle cashed in through contact. Ber’nyah Mayo returned the favor with a jumper. The Red Storm fouled Oden on Penn State’s next possession, and she splashed both free throws to reclaim the lead 27-26.

Elliott nastily shook off a Red Storm defender for an easy score after a media timeout.

Gracie Gabby

4:22 Q2 | 29-26 Penn State #LionMentality pic.twitter.com/7Svd5bxIZX

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 3, 2024

Dwyer collected another steal for an isolated score, halting Penn State’s momentum. St. John’s stole the ball off of a Penn State inbound and scored once again. The Lady Lions missed on the other end on their next possession, and Dwyer drained a deep two to make the lead three.

Lavelle cashed in a three after Penn State responded, putting the Red Storm up 37-33. Merkle blocked Lavelle’s next shot, but officials stopped play for a potential upgraded foul on Lavelle after she pulled Campbell’s arm. Campbell won two free throws and hit both as a result.

Tamera Johnson won a trip to the free throw line with 15 seconds remaining in the half but missed both shots. Dwyer poked the ball away once more on Penn State’s next possession, sprinting towards the rim and banking in a layup to beat the buzzer and put St. John’s up 39-35 at halftime.

Murray missed her second three of the game to start the second half. Dwyer scored the other way to extend the lead to six for St. John’s. On Penn State’s next possession, Murray wiggled free after Dwyer’s shoe fell off and cashed her first triple of the night to cut the Lady Lions’ deficit in half.

Elliott scored her second trey of the game as Penn State started to get hot from beyond the arc. Dwyer responded once more with a two, keeping St. John’s steadily ahead 45-41.

Dwyer drew a foul on a fast break after Oden and Merkle miscued on offense, resulting in a turnover. She cashed in both free throws to put the Red Storm’s lead back at six. Lavelle got her third block of the night on Penn State’s next shot.

Murray came up short on a fadeaway three as Mayo cashed in from beyond the arc on the other end to pad the Red Storm’s lead to 11. Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger called a timeout with 5:49 left in the third quarter.

Oden immediately converted an and-one on a tough shot out of the timeout to cut Penn State’s deficit to nine.

AND ONE

5:33 Q1 | 52-43 St. John's#LionMentality | @JaylaOden pic.twitter.com/QcKDVwL6CK

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 3, 2024

The Lady Lions then forced a St. John’s miss and Merkle shook off multiple defenders in the paint for an inside score. Both teams started to exchange shots as Merkle scored once more in the paint. Oden missed a routine layup that would have tied the game back up with just over a minute left in the third quarter. Grace Hall had another chance to knot it up but missed due to contact near the rim. However, the Lady Lions started to string together stops on defense.

Mayo scored to end the Red Storm’s drought, and Dwyer notched her fourth steal of the night for another fast-break score to put St. John’s up 58-52 at the end of the third quarter.

Penn State’s first possession of the fourth quarter resulted in a shot clock violation. St. John’s scored a scoop afterward, and Elliott overcooked a three. Johnson took a foul and sunk both free throws to cut the deficit to four. However, the Lady Lions completely dismantled on defense on the inbound and the Red Storm scored an easy layup. Dwyer scored another two after a St. John’s steal, forcing Kieger to call timeout.

Campbell hit a mid-ranger to make the score 64-58 with six minutes remaining in the game. Penn State forced a Vanderhoop miss and Oden drew a foul the other way, but only cashed one. Merkle pushed her way in the paint and scored, but was called on a charge.

Oden lost the ball and St. John’s cashed in on the other end, padding the lead back to nine. Oden made up for it with an and-one after Elliott plucked the ball from the air on defense to cut the deficit to five. Penn State pressed and forced a shot clock violation with 2:29 left in the game.

Oden drew another foul after the violation, and she splashed both shots to put the Lady Lions within three. St. John’s called a timeout.

St. John’s ran the shot clock down and scored after the timeout, and Oden went right down and scored acrobatically once again. The Red Storm missed a wide-open three, and Campbell airballed the other way, gifting St. John’s possession.

St. John’s passed the ball out of bounds on its possession. Mayo interrupted Merkle and Oden’s handoff on the possible game-tying possession, forcing the Lady Lions to foul. Dwyer sunk two free throws and got a final steal to ice the game 72-67.

Takeaways

• The story of the game was St. John’s ability to steal the ball and score fast break points the other way, especially Lashae Dwyer. The Red Storm totaled 16 steals to Penn State’s three and scored 25 fast break points in comparison to Penn State’s six.
• Penn State’s glaring issue through its recent run of games is its transition defense. The amount of fast break points St. John’s scored Monday wasn’t only an issue with Penn State losing the ball, but from its transition defense tracking back after the steals. The Lady Lions didn’t match the Red Storm’s speed going the other way all night and they paid for it.
• St. John’s neutralized Murray and Merkle, holding them to five and 13 points, respectively. Jayla Oden stepped up throughout the whole game, totaling 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting, her season-high. Oden was unstoppable in the fourth quarter, making bucket after bucket and clutch plays to keep Penn State in the game to the end.

What’s Next?

Penn State takes on Indiana for its Big Ten opener at 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, at the Bryce Jordan Center. Folks can tune in on BTN+.