Penn State women’s basketball (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated Cincinnati (0-2, Big 12 0-0) 82-77 in the team’s second game this season.

The Lady Lions were led by a nine-point fourth quarter from Moriah Murray and 20 points, along with seven assists from Kiyomi McMiller, to pull out the close victory in regulation.

How It Happened

Gracie Merkle won the opening tip, and McMiller wasted no time getting the offense going with a steal and fast-break layup. Merkle added a layup off an offensive rebound to make it 4-0 early. Cincinnati answered with a quick bucket from Reagan Jackson, but Penn State would answer right back. McMiller scored again in transition, and Merkle converted off a feed from Amiya Evans to push the lead to 8-2.

The Bearcats tried to keep up, but McMiller responded with a pull-up jumper to make it 12-6. Penn State forced multiple turnovers that led to easy points early. Tea Cleante scored on a fast-break layup before McMiller found Merkle in the paint for another bucket, giving the Lady Lions a 16-8 lead.

McMiller went one-for-two at the line, extending the lead to double digits. Alliance Ndiba capped off the run by picking up the offensive rebound and putting it back for the basket. After a steal from Ndiba and a miss, McMiller dropped another bucket in.

Cincinnati then went on a 10-0 run to tie the game, capped off by an and-one from Ramiyah Byrd. She missed the free throw, and Merkle grabbed the board. Tea Cleante turned the ball over after losing it out of bounds. Merkle was called for the shooting with 2:17 remaining in the quarter, sending Jackson to the line, where she hit both free throws.

Moriah Murray fed Cleante for the bucket, but Cincy immediately responded with a three. The two teams traded turnovers before Murray buried the corner three to tie the game at 23-23. Kylie Torrence responded for Cincinnati with a bucket inside, but McMiller matched her with a layup of the inbound moments later. Kylie Torrence hit the mid-range jumper just before the buzzer, ending the high-scoring first quarter at 27-25 in favor of the Bearcats.

McMiller looked for Evans on the first play of the quarter but ended up turning it over. Caliyah Devillase dribbled down the court and hit the free-throw line jumper. McMiller had another turnover on the next play, and she was subbed out. Cleante’s layup on the ensuing Lady Lions’ offensive possession was no good, but Merkle was there to clean up the rebound and put it back up for the easy two. After a Cincinnati travel, Murray hit another corner three, giving Penn State a 30-29 lead.

Merkle rejected Mary Carden and then drew the shooting foul on the other end. She missed both free throws, but Victoria Santana got the offensive rebound. She fed Murray at the top of the crease, but her three was no good. Penn State forced a turnover and then fed Merkle in the paint for an easy two.

Devillase was there to answer for Cincinnati, getting a bucket plus the foul, but missed the free throw to tie the game. On the other end, Santana found Amiya Evans for the baseline jumper. McMiller came back into the game and immediately threw another turnover, but made it up on the next play with a dime to Merkle inside for two. Devillase looked to answer, and did with a three-pointer for Cincinnati. McMiller came right down the court and hit Evans for another easy Penn State bucket.

After the media timeout with 3:24 remaining in the half — and five Beartcat points — McMiller responded with a floater from the paint, giving the lead back to the Lady Lions at 40-39. The two teams then traded empty possessions before Kylie Torrence got the bucket for Cincinnati. Santana was called for an offensive foul on the next offensive possession, the Lady Lions’ fifth turnover of the half.

Viktoria Ranisavljevic airballed a three-pointer, and after a Cincinnati miss, Cleante was called for a backcourt violation with 15 seconds to go. Neither team was able to score after that, and the Lady Lions trailed 41-40 after one half.

Cleante immediately stole the ball from Cincy and got the fast-break layup to open the third quarter. Cleante forced another turnover, this time off the Bearcats’ inbound, but the Lady Lions were unable to get the bucket. McMiller then forced a turnover and drove to the basket for the two.

Torrence answered for Cincinnati with a mid-range jumper, and then Evans knocked down two free throws after being fouled by Mya Perry. Three possessions later, Cleante would drain two free throws after being fouled on the way to the basket, giving Penn State a 48-43 lead. After two buckets from Torrence and one from Perry, Santana dished out a beautiful feed to Merkle down low for the two. The Lady Lions came down on the next possession, and McMiller found Cleante for three, and this time, she hit nothing but net, extending the lead to 53-49.

On the other end, Merkle was called for the shooting foul on Ndiba, where she hit both shots. Ranisavljevic got into the action with a layup of the inbound play, and the outlet pass from Merlke ended up in McMillers’ hands, who found Murray for the free-throw-line extended three, giving the Lady Lions a seven-point cushion with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Jackson knocked down a pair of free throws for the Bearcats, and after a miss from Merkle in the paint, Murray was called for the shooting foul on Devillase, where she hit both. Ranisavljevic knocked down a corner three for the Lady Lions, and then was on the defensive end of an offensive foul moments later.

Torrence hit a 15-foot jumper and then blocked McMiller’s shot attempt on the defensive end. Off the inbound, Santana looked to bully her way inside, but was called for the offensive foul. An airball from Devillase led to another Ranisavljevic three-pointer just before the buzzer, giving the Lady Lions a 64-57 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Jackson scored the first basket of the fourth quarter off a Penn State turnover, and then knocked down two technical free throws. Jackson then hit a tough three-pointer with a hand in her face, making it seven straight points for her and tying the game. Destiny Thomas converted on a layup, making it 66-64 in favor of the Bearcats, but McMiller quickly tied the game with a layup on the next possession for the Lady Lions.

Torrence hit the driving layup to hand the lead back to the Bearcats momentarily, but after an empty Penn State possession, Murray stole the ball from Ndiba, and Coach Carolyn Kieger called a timeout. Off the sideline inbound, McMiller was unable to hit the jumper.

Torrance got the offensive rebound and fed Devillase for the two. Murray responded on the other end with a deep three for the Lady Lions, keeping them within one point of the Bearcats. Perry was blocked by Merkle, but she got the ball back and finished the layup. Byrd fouled Cleante on here way to the basket for the and-one, and he knocked down the free throw to tie the game at 72-72.

After a Cincinnati turnover, Kiyomi McMiller took the defender one-on-one to the basket and somehow hit the spinning layup, sending Rec Hall into a frenzy as Penn State took the 74-72 lead with under four minutes to play. The Lady Lions got a stop on defense, and then McMiller found Murray in the paint. She scored and got hit on the way up for the and-one, also knocking down the free throw to give the Lady Lions a five-point lead with 2:30 remaining in regulation.

Devillase called the bank on a mid-range jumper for Cincinnati, but after a three from Murray and a layup from Ranisavljevic, the Bearcats quickly fell into an eight-point deficit with 1:11 to go. Perry answered with a three for Cincinnati to make it an 82-77 game. Things got interesting after a loose-ball foul was called on Merkle with 21.6 remaining. Cincinnati got multiple offensive rebounds on the final possession, but was unable to complete a last-minute comeback, as the Lady Lions won 82-77.

Takeaway’s

• The fourth quarter belonged to Murray, who shot 3-3 with a pair of threes and nine points, including the dagger in the coffin to seal the game.
• Penn State shot 47.4% from three-point range, knocking down 9-19 shots from beyond the arc.
• For someone who’s known to not pass the ball, McMiller sure has turned her game around at Penn State. She added seven assists to her stat line tonight after tallying six in her debut.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions are set to host Coppin State at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 12, at Rec Hall. The game will be streamed on BTN+.