Penn State women’s basketball (9-7, 0-5 Big Ten) fell to Oregon (12-4, 3-2 Big Ten) at the Bryce Jordan Center in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

The Lady Lions went down by as much as 15 at two separate points of the game but powered through behind Gabby Elliott’s superb outing to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Both teams continued to scrap and fight as the clock winded down, but Oregon ultimately made its final possession count to hand Penn State its fifth straight loss and continue its winless start to conference play.

How It Happened

Oregon drew first blood with back-to-back buckets by Amina Muhammad in the opening minute. The Lady Lions failed to sort themselves offensively on their next possession, leading to a shot clock violation. Alli Campbell drew a foul to win back possession and scored a mid-range shot to put Penn State on the board.

Muhammad put two more points on the board as the Lady Lions suffered through more miscommunication on the offensive end. Campbell missed a mid-ranger with the shot clock winding down while the Ducks strolled down for a wide-open layup, forcing Carolyn Kieger to call a timeout midway through the opening frame down 10-2.

Oregon scored coming out of the timeout, but Talayah Walker responded with a put-back layup. Penn State forced a stop on defense, and Gracie Merkle linked up with Jayla Oden in the paint for another score.

.@GracieMerkle @JaylaOden

4:09 Q1 | 12-6 Oregon #LionMentality pic.twitter.com/Sjg3XEvxMo

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) January 9, 2025

Walker cashed in Penn State’s first three of the night to bring the deficit down to five. She also sank two free throws after drawing a foul on the Lady Lions’ next possession. The Lady Lions committed another shot clock violation to close out the first frame with Oregon leading 20-14.

Oregon’s Sofia Bell opened the second quarter with a three to inflate its lead to nine. Oden sunk two free throws in retaliation, but the Ducks kept the Lady Lions at bay with continuous buckets of their own. Campbell and Tamera Johnson failed to connect as Penn State amassed its ninth turnover of the night early in the second frame.

Katie Fiso cashed in a mid-range jump shot to push Oregon’s lead to 11, and Alexis Whitfield added more fire to the flame with her own jumper. Penn State once again stagnated on its offensive possession, and Ducks center Phillipina Kyei made an easy layup to put her side up 15 at 31-16 midway through the second quarter.

Campbell finally stopped the bleeding with a steal and breakaway layup.

.@alli_campbell21 steal and score

5:30 Q2 | 31-18 Oregon#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/IqtbR6wnJC

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) January 9, 2025

Elliott scored her first points of the night with a put-back layup after a rare miss from Merkle. Walker scored and Elliott hit a three to bring Penn State’s deficit back to eight. The officials called the Ducks for a travel before a media timeout with 3:17 left in the second frame as Oregon led 31-23 with Penn State on a 7-0 run.

Both teams exchanged multiple misses coming out of the media timeout before Elliott finally broke the deadlock with a layup. Oregon’s Deja Kelly cashed in from beyond the arc directly afterwards, killing Penn State’s newfound momentum.

Campbell won a trip to the free throw line and made both shots as the last points of the half. After falling behind by as much as 15, Penn State lowered the deficit to seven at 34-27 with a strong final five minutes of the half.

Kelly scored the first points of the second half. Campbell found a wide-open Moriah Murray in the corner for three, but Murray missed the mark. Oregon took the ball down after collecting the rebound and scored to push its lead to double digits once again.

Kyei denied Merkle under the rim once again. Elliott hit a euro step and scored her jumper, but Oregon answered immediately with a mid-ranger. Kieger called a timeout after the Ducks’ 8-2 run to start the third quarter, with the score at 42-29.

Penn State’s possession coming out of the timeout immediately crumbled as Nani Falatea swooped the ball from Campbell and scored the other way to inflate Oregon’s lead back to 15. Elliott responded with her second three of the night, but the Lady Lions continued to fail to generate stops.

More offensive miscommunication and sloppiness doomed the Lady Lions as they embarked on another comeback effort. Falatea and Elliott exchanged three-pointers after the media timeout, making it a 49-35 ballgame.

Walker scored a quick layup to bring the deficit back down to a dozen. Falatea scored a layup of her own to continue her hot third quarter. The Lady Lions committed their 19th turnover of the night on their next possession with three and a half minutes remaining in the penultimate frame.

Kelly and Elliott exchanged shots. Elliott continued her stellar night with these shots and duels with various Ducks, racking up 17 points through the late third quarter. She drew a foul and cashed in both shots from the line to close the deficit back down to nine with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter. Neither team cashed in during the final minute as the game headed to the final frame with Oregon leading 54-45.

Elliott connected for her fourth triple of the night to bring the deficit down to six to open the final frame. The Lady Lions forced another stop on defense, but Walker traveled with the opportunity to pull within five. She almost made a clutch steal on the high press but stepped out of bounds as well. The Lady Lions stayed committed to the high press on the ensuing inbound and got a clean steal, forcing Oregon to foul a wide-open Campbell. She made one of her two shots to make it a 54-49 game, finally pulling Penn State back within five.

Elliott collected the ball after an Oregon airball, and Grace Hall drew a foul on the other end for a trip to the free throw line. Hall sunk one of two to make the game 54-50. The officials called Oregon for a travel on its next possession as Penn State gathered all of the momentum with 7:32 left in the matchup.

The Lady Lions stopped Oregon, and Elliott scored to cut Oregon’s lead to two. Campbell and Hall beautifully connected for a layup, but Whitfield blocked the shot under the rim. Penn State couldn’t get the ball into the hoop after a Campbell miss, keeping the deficit at two.

The Lady Lions forced another turnover on defense, and Hall sunk a three to give Penn State its first lead of the game at 55-54 with five minutes remaining in the game.

GRACE HALL FROM BEHIND THE ARC GIVES US THE LEAD

5:09 Q4 | 55-54 Penn State#LionMentality x @Grace_hall30 pic.twitter.com/ZqzGgRN7BK

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) January 9, 2025

Oregon responded immediately with a layup, and Johnson traveled after a clutch steal under the rim.

Elliott powered into the paint and scored to reclaim the lead. The Ducks and the Lady Lions continued to exchange shots, one-upping each other with every possession. Oregon won a foul after getting a stop on defense, but Falatea only sunk one shot.

Merkle showed up on Penn State’s next possession with a layup to tie the game at 61 with just over 90 seconds remaining. Walker stole the ball and kicked it out to Elliott, but Oregon knocked it out of her hands. Bell missed a corner three as Campbell brought the ball up to mid-court, but Kieger called a timeout with 53 seconds left.

Penn State failed to score on the inbound as Kyei grabbed the rebound with 32 ticks remaining. Oregon took its next possession and held the ball to waste time, and Kelly ultimately pulled up from mid-range to give the Ducks the lead with four seconds left.

Johnson missed from beyond the arc on Penn State’s final possession to end the game 63-61.

Takeaways

• Elliott showed up as the Lady Lions’ primary scorer after a rare dud of a game from Merkle. Elliott was clutch all night, matching Oregon’s shots when the Ducks piled the points on in the second and third quarters. Elliott finished her night with 26 points on 10-17 shooting and 4-6 from three.
• Penn State had to play from behind for the second consecutive game. Turnovers plagued the Lady Lions throughout the game, which is not a rare occurrence this season for Kieger’s team. The turnover tally came out to 24.
• Despite turnovers contributing to playing from behind, the Lady Lions have shown an immense amount of grit in their last two games. They have made strong comeback efforts that just fell short at the end of both matchups.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions head to the West Coast for a battle against No. 4 USC at 8 p.m. on Sunday, January 13, at the Galen Center.