Penn State women’s basketball (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) lost to Indiana (7-3, 1-0 Big Ten) in its Big Ten opener at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Lions didn’t connect from three all game long while the Hoosiers were clinical from beyond the arc. Indiana also freed up a lot of space in the paint due to Penn State’s defensive high press. Indiana distanced itself in the third quarter with clinical three-point shooting and never looked back.

How It Happened

Moriah Murray hit a step-back two on Penn State’s opening possession to initiate the scoring for the Lady Lions. Indiana missed on the other end and Jayla Oden won two free throws, which she cashed in.

Oden banked in a floater to put Penn State up 8-2 in the opening three minutes. Oden tried it again, but the rim denied her. Gracie Merkle muscled her way for the rebound and laid the ball in.

Merkle scored again under the rim to push Penn State’s lead to five, but the Hoosiers immediately responded from beyond the arc to make it a 12-10 ball game. Indiana unleashed another three after a Penn State missed layup, but failed to cash it in.

Oden went down and banked in a shot, but former Penn State guard Shay Ciezki made a three to close the margin to one at 14-13 at the end of the first frame.

Alli Campbell opened the second quarter with a mid-range basket. Gabby Eliott rattled in a shot as well, and Tamera Johnson’s staunch defense at mid-court forced the Hoosiers into a backcourt violation. The Lady Lions didn’t capitalize on the turnover and Indiana scored the other way to cut the Penn State lead back to one.

Merkle made one of two free throws after being fouled by a Hoosier. Indiana made its shot on the other end despite strong defense from Murray, tying the game up at 19 midway through the second quarter.

Penn State continued the high press defensively, but Indiana got an easy score under the bucket to put the Hoosiers up 21-20 for their first lead of the game. Murray got a steal through traffic in the paint and Elliott converted the takeaway into two points for the Lady Lions.

Both teams started to exchange shots as the contest began to intensify, capitalized by Johnson’s vicious block to deny Indiana’s Henna Sandvik on the glass.

TJ said NOPE

4:06 Q2 | 23-22 Indiana#LionMentality | @knownasmeraa pic.twitter.com/jyDntD81nc

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 7, 2024

Indiana responded with a three to go up by four points. Oden faked out a Hoosier defender in the corner and rushed in for a floater. Indiana once again read through Penn State’s defense and wiggled free for a wide-open score under the hoop to restore the lead to four with three minutes remaining in the half.

Indiana passed around the perimeter but didn’t score. Murray missed a mid-ranger and the Hoosiers collected the rebound. Elliott snagged the ball out of the air for a steal, passing it back and forth with Campbell for a score. The officials called Ciezki on a charge against Oden, who hit a floater to beat the buzzer to end the first half and knot the game back up at 30.

JAYLA TIES IT UP AT THE BUZZER

00:00 Q2 | 30-30 #LionMentality | @JaylaOden pic.twitter.com/8xYkMXD65S

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) December 7, 2024

Campbell and Merkle connected for a layup to start the second half. The same duo connected again after stopping Indiana, and Merkle got the foul and scored the and-one. The Lady Lions forced a miss from three, and Oden rattled in a two to put Penn State up five.

Elliott shot two from the line but only cashed in one. Indiana took a Penn State turnover the other way for a score of their own to make it 38-36. Oden went down with an injury and was helped to the locker room without putting pressure on her right foot with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Indiana tied the game back up at 38 with a mid-ranger. Elliott responded immediately with a banked shot in the paint. The Hoosiers hit from the left flank beyond the arc to put them up by one with 4:37 remaining in the penultimate frame.

Grace Hall missed and grabbed her own rebound to lay the ball in directly out of the media timeout. Indiana made a shot of their own, and Murray got a wide-open look on Penn State’s next possession but couldn’t make it drop.

Indiana’s Karol Striplin scored once again to push the Lady Lions down three. Johnson won two free throws but once again only made one, showcasing a trend throughout the whole Penn State team.

Penn State showed offensive disconnect late in the third quarter, going on a 2:07 scoring drought to close out the frame. Indiana capitalized off of turnovers and made multiple shots to pad its lead to six at 49-43.

The Hoosiers opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from Yarden Garzon. Merkle cashed in two free throws on Penn State’s next possession to cut Indiana’s lead to seven. However, Garzon hit another three from the left side to make Indiana’s lead 10 with nine minutes left in the contest.

Oden checked back into the game and hit a deep two following multiple Penn State failed possessions. Oden found Campbell in the corner for another deep two. Campbell let another three fly on Penn State’s subsequent possession but couldn’t make it fall. Indiana grabbed the ball, headed the other way, and Garzon cashed in once more from beyond the arc, making it a 63-49 ball game and seemingly the dagger.

Garzon scored another three with five minutes remaining to make Indiana’s lead 15 points. Murray missed a jumper on the other side.

Oden scored Penn State’s first three-pointer of the game with around two minutes remaining in the contest. Indiana passed the ball around to close out the game.

Takeaways

• Penn State didn’t find much groove offensively throughout the whole game, even though the turnover battle was essentially evenly matched between the two squads. Indiana simply made bigger baskets down the stretch.
• The Lady Lions had their worst game of the season from beyond the arc. They went 1-10 from three at 10% shooting. Penn State has struggled from three since Murray’s hot start in the opening run of games.
• Penn State didn’t get much from its bench. The bench only scored 4 points compared to Indiana’s 30, requiring the starters to unevenly pull more weight.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions embark on a two-game road trip to end non-conference play. They first head to Rhode Island to battle Providence at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11.