Penn State women’s basketball (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) took down Saint Joseph’s (3-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) 89-77 in the team’s first road contest of the season. 

The Lady Lions were fueled by Gracie Merkle’s 25 points in the paint, Tea Cleante’s 23-point shooting barrage, and an 18-0 second-quarter run en route to a 89-77 victory while shooting 71% from three-point range.

How It Happened

Jill Jekot got the opening basket of the game for Saint Joseph’s to get things going. Two plays later, Tea Cleante responded for the Lady Lions with a mid-range jumper from the baseline. A few possessions later, Merkle was fouled inside, going one-for-two from the free-throw line.

Gabby Casey answered with a layup for the Hawks, and after Kiymoi McMiller was unable to connect on a shot from deep, Aleah Snead got the and-one to fall for Saint Joseph’s, also knocking down the free throw to make it a 9-3 game.

After back-to-back Penn State turnovers where Saint Joseph’s weren’t able to capitalize, McMiller forced a turnover in the backcourt and fed Viktoria Ranisavljevic, who got fouled on her layup attempt. After missing the first free throw, she knocked down the second one. Penn State forced another turnover and found Victoria Santana all alone on the wing for a three-pointer, closing the gap to make it 9-7.

On the other end, Snead was left all alone at the top of the key, getting the feed from Kaylie Griffin for the three. A long outlet from Santana was stolen by the Hawks, and Gabby Casey made the Lady Lions pay with a three, extending the lead to 15-7 with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter.

McMiller tried to respond with a mid-range jumper, which was no good, starting 0-4 from the field, but Merkle was there to clean up the offensive rebound and put it back for two. On the next offensive possession for the Lady Lions, Santana knocked down her second three-pointer of the quarter to bring the Lady Lions back within three.

Out of the TV timeout, McMiller let go of a corner three but was unable to knock down the look. On the other end, Cecilia Kay’s hook shot was good for two, and after the fifth turnover of the quarter for Penn State, Kay was fouled and sent to the line for two free throws, knocking them both down.

After Cleante fed Merkle inside for the easy two with 2:22 to go in the opening quarter, Emily Knouse knocked down a deep three-pointer with the shot clock expiring on Saint Joseph’s. Merkle went one-for-two at the free-throw line to make it a seven-point game, and then the Lady Lions forced a miss, but Clente gave it right back to the Hawks after traveling.

Saint Joseph’s was unable to score, giving Penn State the ball back with 21.1 seconds left in the quarter. Santana was fouled, knocking down both free throws, and then the Hawks looked to hold for the final shot. But after a floater with six seconds remaining was unable to fall, McMiller dribbled down the court, pulled up from three, and swished her shot as the buzzer sounded, ending the first quarter down by two, 22-20.

To start to second quarter, Cleante found Ranisavljevic in the corner for three, taking the lead at 23-22. A miss by the Hawks then led to an easy basket for Merkle down low. She missed the first shot after being fed by Cleante, but after getting her own rebound, she scored on the putback.

After both teams exchanged missed three-point possessions, McMiller fed Merkle for a near-identical play to the previous, getting the deuce to extend the Lady Lions’ lead to five. Another empty possession from the Hawks led to a Cleante corner three, capping off the 16-0 run that left the Hawks scoreless for over four minutes.

Penn State wasn’t done, though. After another miss from Saint Joseph’s, McMilelr let go of the free throw line jumper, which was good for two. The Hawks missed two more shots on the offensive end, and to put salt in the wound, Clenate knocked down another corner three on the ensuing possession to give Penn State a 13-point lead in the blink of an eye.

The Hawks would finally score after Amiya Evans was called for a shooting foul, and the assessed a technical foul for taunting after the play. Casey went one-for-two on the technical free throws and then knocked down both of her shooting foul shots. Saint Joseph’s would get possession after the free throws, but couldn’t capitalize on the extra possession.

Ranisavljevic telegraphed the Hawks’ pass and took it the other way for two, but Saint Joseph’s finally got a bucket to fall after Casey knocked down a three-pointer. Cleante immediately responded with her third three-pointer in as many attempts, but Faith Stinson took that as a challenge and answered for the Hawks with a three of her own to make to 40-31 with 4:14 remaining in the half.

Casey hit a step-back three-pointer moments later, bringing her total up to 14 points for the half, but Cleante was there to answer yet again with another corner three. Casey then confirmed she was in the middle of a heat check by hitting her fifth three-pointer of the half. After the Penn State miss on the other end, Casey fed Stinson inside for the wide-open layup in transition. Santana was then called for traveling, giving Saint Joseph’s the ball down by six points. Snead got her three-point attempt to fall for the Hawks, and then the Lady Lions committed their eleventh turnover of the half after Cleante took too many steps.

McMilelr re-entered the game and immediately hit a tough spinning layup to give the Lady Lions a five-point cushion, but Snead responded with her third three-pointer of the half to bring it within two points after trailing by 13. Each team had one more empty possession before the quarter ended, with the Lady Lions taking a 47-45 lead into halftime.

Merkle opened the second half with an offensive rebound and put-back layup, but then committed a foul on the other end, sending Casey to the line, where she went one-for-two. On the next Lady Lion possession, Merkle found the wide-open Moriah Murray at the top of the key for the three-pointer. Cleante forced a turnover 1:39 into the half and took it the other way for the layup, extending the Lady Lion lead to 54-46.

Ranisavljevic then found Merkle inside for the easy two on the next Penn State possession, and then Merkle blocked the driving Casey on her layup attempt. Murray picked up the ball and found Cleante leaking down court for her 17th and 18th points of the contest.

Out of the commercial break, Knouse looked to knock down an open three but missed. Murray poked the ball away from Kaylie Griffin, and McMiller hit the mid-range pull-up jumper. The Lady Lions switched to zone defense and Griffin hit the open three-pointer, but was immediately answered by Cleante, extending the Penn State lead to 63-49.

After back-to-back buckets for the Hawks, McMiller tried to answer with the free-throw line jumper but was unable to connect. The Hawks missed on their possession, and then Merkle bodied her way inside with the ball, getting the layup to go with 2:27 to go in the third quarter.

Jekot stripped Ranisavljevic and found Snead for the layup, cutting the lead to 10. Merkle answered again inside with a layup, but Snead knocked down a three-pointer on the next possession for Saint Joseph’s.

Murray fed Merkle inside, where she was fouled on the way up, hitting the first three throws, but missing the second attempt. Santana grabbed the rebound on the missed free-throw and drew a shooting foul of her own. Santana missed both free throws, but Ranisavljevic grabbed the rebound for Penn State.

After passing the ball to McMiller, Ranisavljevic was called for an illegal screen, and Saint Joseph’s held for the final shot. McMilelr stripped Griffin as the clock wound down, and the Lady Lions went into the fourth quarter with a 68-58 lead.

To start the final quarter, Murray threw a lob pass into Merkleon the block, hitting the easy two. Rhian Stoke missed a three-pointer for the Hawks, but Saint Joseph’s got the ball right back after a five-second violation was called on the Lady Lions. Stokes gave it right back to Penn State, and McMiller pulled up from just inside the free-throw line, hitting nothing but net. On the next possession, Murray drained a three-pointer to give Penn State a 17-point lead 1:31 into the fourth quarter.

After calling a timeout, the Hawks scored and forced Ranisavljevic into a turnover. Snead found Stinson in the corner for three, and on the next possession, Casey found Stokes for three, forcing Carolyn Kieger to call a timeout after the Hawks cut the lead to nine.

Out of the timeout, Cleante missed her first shot of the game, but Merkle scooped up the offensive rebound and put it back for two. Casey hit a bank-shot top-of-the-key three-pointer to make it a 77-69 game, and then Merkle was called for an offensive foul after bodying Kay inside the paint.

Ranisavljevic played great defense and forced Casey into a miss, and then Stokes fouled McMiller after stumbling with the ball. Of the inbound, McMiller took the ball right to the rim, forced the contact, and got the bucket to fall for the and-one. McMiller missed the free-throw with 4:28 remaining in the quarter, and then Stokes stepped to the line after being fouled by Evans. Stokes went two-for-two from the line to make it an eight-point game.

Merkle put up three shots from under the rim but was unable to get any to fall, and then fouled Kay to put Saint Joseph’s in the bonus. Kay knocked down both to make it a two-possession game, but Murray found Merkle inside for the deuce.

McMiller fouled Stokes with 2:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, and she hit one free-throw before being called for a free-throw violation before the second shot. McMilelr answered with a shitfty layup in traffic to put Penn State up by nine. Casey missed a three-pointer, but Ranisavljevic carried the ball on her way up the court, turning it over back to Saint Joseph’s. After Stokes missed a three-pointer, Santana hit the dagger three with 97 seconds to go, putting Penn State up 86-74.

Saint Joseph’s would play the full game for the final minute, but weren’t able to climb back being down by double digits, as the Lady Lions win their fourth game in a row, 89-77.

Takeaways

• The Lady Lions’ 18-0 run flipped the game on its head. What started as a shaky, turnover-filled first half suddenly became a Penn State takeover. They locked in defensively, dominated both sides of the glass, stole all the momentum, and connected on open looks.
• Cleante was nothing short of automatic. She finished the game 5-for-6 from three and 9-for-11 from the field, totalling 21 points without missing a shot until the fourth quarter. Every time Saint Joseph’s hit a big bucket, Cleante was there to answer.
• Merkle didn’t need to touch the ball on every possession to make her presence felt. Just being on the floor forced Saint Joseph’s to collapse inside. It opened the door for Penn State shooters, with the Lady Lions torching the Hawks from deep, going 12-for-17 from three.

What’s Next?

Penn State women’s basketball will travel to Atlantis, Bahamas, to make its debut in the Battle 4 Atlantis at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, facing off against Princeton. The tournament will be broadcasted nationally, with exact details still TBD.