Penn State women’s basketball (10-9, 1-7 Big Ten) took down No. 9 Ohio State (17-1, 9-1 Big Ten) 62-59 on Sunday afternoon in the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Lady Lions overcame an early deficit in the first quarter and never went away, eventually upsetting the undefeated Buckeyes 62-59. It was Penn State’s first win in Big Ten play this year and its first win since December 15.

How It Happened

The Buckeyes won the tip but Ajae Petty missed an open jumper. The rebound went to the Lady Lions but they couldn’t connect before Cotie McMahon hit a three at the opposite end.

Gabby Elliott hit from the paint but McMahon hit another three to go up 6-2. Two empty possessions later, Chance Gray hit a three in transition to push the early lead to seven. The Buckeyes piled on with a two on the next trip down the floor and Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger called the first timeout of the game.

Jayla Oden missed a three from the top of the key out of the timeout and the rebound went to Ohio State. Gray took a shot at the end of the shot clock from beyond the arc and the Buckeye lead ballooned to 14-2.

The Lady Lions couldn’t get through the Buckeye defense and a shot clock violation gave the ball back to Ohio State as the Penn State drought continued.

The Buckeyes forced another turnover but lost it at the other end before Alli Campbell was fouled and went 1-2 from the line. Gracie Merkle grabbed Oden’s missed and converted a layup as Ohio State’s lead shrunk to 14-5. Kennedy Cambridge got Ohio State to 16 before Oden hit Penn State’s first triple of the day to make the score 16-8.

Oden drove to the paint after an Ohio State turnover and hit before McMahon made a turnaround jumper as the first quarter came to a close with the Buckeyes leading 18-10.

Merkle was denied an attempt under the basket at the start of the second quarter but the Buckeyes couldn’t connect at the other end. The Lady Lions committed another turnover and McMahon was fouled but missed both from the line.

Moriah Murray made a three from the top of the key as the Lady Lions got back to within five. An offensive foul gave the Lady Lions the ball back with a chance to get back to a one-score deficit. Talayah Walker found Grace Hall underneath the basket and the Lady Lions pushed the score to 18-15.

Elliott jumped in front of a Buckeye pass and found Walker on the breakaway as the Lady Lions fought back to within one at 18-17, prompting an Ohio State timeout. Ava Watson added three to the Buckeyes lead out of the timeout and Murray missed at the other end. Ajae Petty made a layup on the ensuing possession and Ohio State went up 25-17.

Oden answered with a three before Campbell made a bucket and the Lady Lions drew back to within three at 25-22. Ohio State’s struggles continued and Walker drove through the paint and converted a layup to make it a one-point game.

The Buckeyes committed another turnover and the Lady Lions capitalized as Walker gave the Lady Lions the lead on a breakaway layup to make the score 26-25. Oden was fouled on the next trip down the floor and hit both shots from the charity stripe to make it 28-25.

Each team added a layup as the first half came to a close with the Lady Lions leading 30-27.

Taylor Thierry opened the second half with a jumper and Murray hit a three on the Lady Lions’ opening possession. McMahon added another triple and the score was quickly pushed to 32-33. Elliott and McMahon traded buckets before a turnover by the Lady Lions gave Ohio State possession.

The Buckeyes took advantage of the turnover and Madison Greene gave the Buckeyes the lead again at 37-35. McMahon hit a jumper from the elbow and pushed the lead to four. The Buckeyes piled on with another Thierry three as Kieger called a timeout with just under six minutes left in the third quarter.

Murray sunk a three out of the timeout before Merkle hit a two and Murray added another three on a quick run that put the Lady Lions up 45-44 after another layup from Merkle. Ohio State called a timeout to stop the 10-2 run.

Gray nailed a three after the timeout that put the Buckeyes back up before a Lady Lion turnover led to another layup from McMahon. Elliot got the Lady Lions back to within two after a layup made the score 49-47. Merkle grabbed a rebound and registered a putback that tied the game at 49-49.

After a miss from McMahon, Oden made a driving layup with less than 20 seconds left in the frame to put Penn State up 51-49. Murray fouled Gray at the end of the quarter and she made both free throws to send the game to the fourth quarter tied 51-51.

Merkle recorded her 12th point of the day as she hit a layup to open the final frame. Elliott got the ball at the top and buried a three to push the score to 56-51 with eight minutes remaining in the game.

Gray drove to the basket as the Buckeyes drew to within three and then hit the game-tying three just two possessions later.

After four minutes without a score from either team, Elliott drove to the basket and made a layup to go up 58-56. She fouled at the other end and Petty made one of two free throws. Elliott struck again and made a layup that put Penn State up 60-57 as Ohio State took a timeout with 1:39 left on the clock.

An Ohio State turnover gave the ball back to the Lady Lions and after not being able to penetrate the defense, Kieger called a timeout while up 60-57 with 1:10 left to go. Hall fouled McMahon, who hit both of her free throws to bring the game to within one at 60-59.

Elliott was fouled with 22 seconds left and only made one shot before the Lady Lions got the offensive rebound leading by two at 61-59. Greene fouled with 16 seconds left and Oden went to the line and went 1-2 before an Ohio State timeout.

The Buckeyes inbounded the ball trailing 62-59 and a turnover gave the ball to the Lady Lions. Gray got one more shot at a three but missed as the Lady Lions upset Ohio State 62-59.

Takeaways

• Turnovers were plenty for both teams on Sunday. The Lady Lions finished with 21 giveaways while the Buckeyes finished with 13.
• Gabby Elliott was a bright spot for the Penn State offense in the win. The guard had 14 points in the contest and was the team’s leading scorer.
• Cotie McMahon was a force that the Lady Lion defense struggled to contend with. She scored Ohio State’s first two buckets and never slowed down, finishing with 19 points.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will go on the road to face No. 22 Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22.