Lady Lions Blow Fourth Quarter Lead To Rutgers In 77-73 Loss

Penn State women’s basketball (10-11, 1-9 Big Ten) fell to Rutgers (9-12, 1-9 Big Ten) 77-73 at the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Lions led by as much as 17 near the end of the third quarter and maintained control of the game all throughout. Despite leading for 37:29 of game time, Penn State’s offensive struggles glared in the final frame, where the Lady Lions only mustered nine points. Moriah Murray once again shot lights out from deep, but it wasn’t enough as Penn State handed Rutgers its first win in Big Ten play.
How It Happened
Grace Hall set the tone with a three-point play on Penn State’s opening possession.
Moriah Murray picked up where she left off with a three on her first shot of the afternoon.
Rutgers’ Jojo Lacey cashed in from beyond the arc as well. Gabby Elliott and Alli Campbell combined on a steal and fast break to score an easy two points.
Jayla Oden showed off her wheels on a quick sprint towards the cup, where she converted the layup and drew the foul. The Lady Lions employed a midcourt press and forced another turnover, scoring once more off of a staunch defensive series.
Campbell picked out Murray in the corner for her second triple of the night, forcing Rutgers to call its first timeout of the game down 15-8.
Murray tried once more from the top of the key but registered her first miss from three of the afternoon. Lacey hit another three from the corner, and Murray returned the favor with another corner three of her own. Mya Petticord cashed in from the same spot as Lacey on Rutgers’ next possession. The Bryce Jordan Center was raining threes in the opening period.
Lacey wiggled free for a wide-open corner three, hitting her third of the afternoon. Oden pulled up and scored in return, marking the eighth triple between the two teams with two and a half minutes remaining in the opening period.
Murray dialed up another three from long range and cashed in for her fourth of the game.
The Lady Lions dropped 28 points in the first frame.
Rutgers inched closer with two buckets at the top of the second quarter off of a Murray turnover. Gracie Merkle made her presence known with an and-one to push the Lady Lions back up by six.
Murray launched and made her fifth three of the game midway through the second quarter. Merkle dominated the board for a monstrous putback after an Oden miss. Talayah Walker then joined the highlight reel with a euro step and reverse layup for a score.
After a two and a half minute scoring drought, Tamera Johnson picked out Murray from beyond the arc, who put it in once again to cap off her 18-point half. She then found Walker under the rim, who narrowly beat the buzzer for Penn State’s final score of the half. The Lady Lions entered the locker room up 47-33.
The Scarlet Knights opened the third quarter on a 10-3 run filled with crafty offensive possessions. Carolyn Kieger called a timeout as Penn State’s lead whittled down to seven.
Campbell gave the Lady Lions some breathing room with a calm layup. Elliott eluded three Scarlet Knights under the rim for an impressive score on a reverse layup. Campbell then pulled up with a high-arcing three that pushed Penn State’s lead back to a dozen.
Elliott drained her second three of the game from the top of the key to hand Penn State its biggest lead of the afternoon and the exclamation point on a 7-0 run in 1:02.
Petticord scored a deep three as Rutgers continued to try and claw back into the game. The Lady Lions led by a dozen going into the final frame.
Lacey scored a three to pull within nine. Merkle then pushed the Scarlet Knights in the paint for an easy score.
Rutgers continued to move the ball and score on second-chance points, but Elliott worked the paint to keep the Scarlet Knights at bay. Campbell airballed a mid-ranger and Murray couldn’t keep the ball inside as Rutgers took it the other way and scored to make Penn State’s lead only six.
Kiyomi McMiller hit a fadeaway three to cut the Lady Lions’ lead to three with 3:30 left after a two-minute scoring drought. Miscommunication between Campbell and Merkle ensued on the inbound, handing Rutgers the potential game-tying possession.
Rutgers missed and Johnson secured the rebound for the Lady Lions. The Scarlet Knights poked the ball away from Oden and took it the other way on the next possession, pulling within one.
Destiny Adams drew a foul off of Merkle. She drained one of the two, tying the game at 70 with 2:16 remaining. More miscommunication ensued on the inbound, handing Rutgers possession. Penn State forced a turnover in hopes of reclaiming the lead but failed to get a shot off and committed a shot clock violation.
McMiller drained a go-ahead three for the Scarlet Knights with just over a minute remaining to capitalize on their 13-0 run in the last 4:21 with 43.9 seconds left.
Elliott pressed McMiller heavily at midcourt and forced the backcourt violation to secure Penn State possession. The Lady Lions fumbled the ball out of bounds with the possession and started to play the foul game.
McMiller cashed in both of her free throws to go up five with 18.2 seconds remaining. Oden launched a three and missed. Campbell fouled Lacey who made both her free throws to ice the game.
Takeaways
- Despite starting the game on the bench, Merkle still played a key role in the paint. Merkle ended her day with 11 points and eight rebounds. Head coach Carolyn Kieger looked for a spark on the offensive side of the ball, and with the Lady Lions’ quick scoring start to the game, Kieger may look to keep Merkle on the bench in the opening minutes in the future.
- Murray has been on an absolute tear from beyond the arc in Penn State’s last two games. After hitting eight threes in Wednesday’s loss to Michigan State, Murray continued testing her hot hand against the Scarlet Knights. She finished with 21 points on 6-10 shooting from deep.
- Rutgers’ comeback bid was built on its ability to secure second-chance points. The Scarlet Knights scored 16 second chance points compared to the Lady Lions’ 5.
What’s Next?
The Lady Lions return to Rec Hall to battle No. 8 Maryland at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29. The matchup also serves as the Wear White and THON game. Folks can tune in on BTN+.
Your ad blocker is on.
Please choose an option below.
Purchase a Subscription!