Penn State women’s basketball (10-19, 1-17 Big Ten) lost to Rutgers (11-18, 3-15 Big Ten) 75-70 in the season finale at the Jersey Mike’s Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Penn State lost its season finale and 17th Big Ten contest of the season with another late-game breakdown against the Scarlet Knights. The Lady Lions failed to sustain Gabby Elliott’s hot start from deep. Penn State took the lead in the third quarter, but 12 lead changes and 17 turnovers plagued the Lady Lions down the stretch in the final game of the season.

How It Happened

Rutgers drew first blood behind a Zachara Perkins corner three. Grace Hall drew a foul and sunk both of her foul shots to put Penn State on the board.

Gabby Elliott hit her first three of the day from the corner while Destiny Adams put the Scarlet Knights back in front with a jumper.

Picking up where she left off

9:00 Q1 | 5-5#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/9YZtWJi3kG

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) March 2, 2025

Elliott sunk another three from the opposite corner to continue her hot start. She banked in an additional three off the glass.

Freshman Cam Rust checked in and scored a layup, displaying the first non-Elliott points for the Lady Lions. Both teams exchanged buckets once more going into the first media timeout. Rutgers led 14-13.

Vitoria Santana tried her hand from deep but was denied by the rim. Hall tied the game up at 16 with her first triple of the day. Mya Petticord responded with a three of her own to give Rutgers the lead once more.

Perkins piled it on with her second three. Hall responded with a calm mid-range jumper. Rutgers led 24-18 after the first quarter.

The two sides exchanged baskets early in the second quarter before being plagued by turnovers on both ends. Rutgers ended its four-minute scoring drought with a Destiny Adams bucket in the paint. Talayah Walker checked in and scored in the paint for the Lady Lions.

Jayla Oden tested a shot from deep but hit the back iron. Lisa Thompson grabbed the rebound and went on a fast break, but Oden tracked back and fouled her. Thompson sunk both free throws to give the Scarlet Knights a four-point lead once more.

Oden and Walker miscued going the other way, turning into a shot clock violation for the Lady Lions. Hall scored a layup and Oden cashed in from deep to reclaim the lead 29-28 late in the first half.

Give her space and she'll use it

1:36 Q2 | 29-28#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/Q3DeLoCK0y

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) March 2, 2025

Rutgers scored twice in transition to go up by three. Tamera Johnson drew a foul going the other way, draining both shots from the charity stripe to pull within one. Thompson missed a floater as time expired, but Johnson fouled her near the rim. Thompson scored both shots to end the half with a Rutgers 34-31 lead.

Johnson ran the floor and scored a quick layup to score the Lady Lions’ first points of the second half. Rutgers went back up by six behind two buckets and a free throw.

Penn State freshman Shaelyn Steele cashed in a triple from the corner for the Lady Lions. Walker reclaimed the lead for Penn State at 42-41 on a fast break layup after snatching the ball from a Scarlet Knight.

Alli Campbell fouled Perkins going the other way, who cashed in both shots from the foul line for another reclaimed lead. Walker showed off the euro step and scored to the Penn State bench’s approval. The lead continued to seesaw with exchanged buckets going into the media timeout with 4:23 left in the third frame. Penn State led 46-45.

Elliott checked back into the game after failing to score since her hot start in the first quarter. Johnson lobbed one up to her off of the inbound, and Elliott made an acrobatic play to secure the two points near the rim.

OK GABBY off the inbound we see you…

3:50 Q3 | 48-45 PSU#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/tsUr9jsnuU

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) March 2, 2025

Adams muscled her way through the paint for a gritty score to tie the game back up at 49. Walker missed a layup going the other way, and JoJo Lacey retook the lead with an elusive score near the baseline.

A Hall pass bounced off of Campbell, which Petticord snagged and took the other way for a bucket. Carolyn Kieger called a timeout as Rutgers went up by three with just under a minute and a half remaining in the third frame.

Walker turned the ball over on the offensive end for the Lady Lions. Thompson dribbled it up for Rutgers, ultimately picking out Petticord in the corner for a three to end the third quarter. Rutgers led 56-50 going into the final frame of the season.

Elliott missed from beyond the arc to open the fourth. Both teams exchanged a handful of turnovers on the ensuing possessions until Elliott hit a smooth jumper to cut the deficit to four.

Petticord pulled up from the corner to go up by nine after a Thompson mid-ranger. Elliott then kicked the ball out to Oden, who cashed in from downtown to cut the deficit to five with 5:48 left in the contest. Rutgers called a timeout up 61-56.

Jay ALL Day

5:51 Q4 | 61-56 RU#LionMentality pic.twitter.com/hF7xPI7IzG

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) March 2, 2025

Elliott missed a wide-open three down the near side with a chance to reel the Scarlet Knights in closer. Campbell grabbed the rebound and tried her own hand from deep, but was denied by the back iron.

Lacey hit another three for the Scarlet Knights to continue to inch away and go up by nine. Penn State continued to chip away, wringing the deficit back to five behind a Walker score.

Lacey tried another three but hit nothing but air. Campbell found Elliott open in the corner for three, but the shot bounced around the rim and out. However, Johnson got a bucket on the next possession to close the deficit to three.

Perkins scored and Lacey snatched the ball away after a Penn State miscue on the offensive end. Rutgers iced the game behind two Adams free throws to end the regular season.

Takeaways

• Gabby Elliott led the team once more in her final game as a Lady Lion. She set the tone early with three consecutive triples and she continued to facilitate the game down the stretch. Elliott capped off her season with 15 points on 6-15 shooting in 26 minutes on the day.
• Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. It’s been Penn State’s issue all year long. The Lady Lions totaled 17 turnovers on the day.
• Free throw trouble doomed the Lady Lions down the stretch once more. Penn State shot 57% from the line on 8-14 shooting. Rutgers shot 88% on 15-17 shooting.

What’s Next?

Penn State’s loss to Purdue on Thursday eliminated the Lady Lions from Big Ten Tournament contention. Carolyn Kieger and her team head into the offseason.