Penn State women’s basketball is headed to the Bahamas this weekend for its first-ever appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Lady Lions are joining Princeton, San Diego State, and Maryland Eastern Shore in the tournament running from Saturday, November 22, through Monday, November 24.

The trip comes at a key time for the Lady Lions, who will use the tournament as an early gauge against high-level competition in a neutral setting. Head coach Carolyn Kieger said the group is treating the weekend like a postseason preview.

“What I love about these trips is it kind of mimics the NCAA Tournament,” Kieger said. “One day in between games. You get to be on the road. You get to have time prepping in meeting rooms. You know, where you have lunch together, you have film together… and then it just creates an opportunity to get used to postseason play, especially for this group that is learning how to win.”

Penn State enters the weekend at 4-0 after opening the season with three straight wins at Rec Hall before grabbing its first road victory at St. Joe’s on Sunday. The Lady Lions are averaging 86 points per game, led by their impressive shooting and inside-out offense that continues to develop around Gracie Merkle and Kiyomi McMiller.

Kieger said the team’s balance has been a major factor in the strong start, especially its improvement in reading defenses and playing through the post. The Lady Lions’ ability to establish Merkle inside, she said, has already opened up more space on the perimeter as the group gets more comfortable with its reads.

“I thought Saint Joes was the best inside-outside we’ve played so far,” Kieger said. “I thought we took our opportunities to throw it into [Merkle]. Had some mishaps on some of the passes, but for the most part, our team is doing a great job reading the help side of when to lob it in, when to throw it in, or when to skip… we’ve been working on a lot of flashing into the high post to get the reverse pin high, low.”

The inside-outside approach clearly paid off most at St. Joe’s, where the Lady Lions shot 12-for-17 from beyond the arc and used an 18-0 second-quarter run to take control on the road. Tea Cleante poured in 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting, while Victoria Santana connected on three triples of her own as Penn State continued generating clean looks off drive-and-kick action.

Kieger said Sunday’s win at Saint Joe’s offered valuable preparation for what the Lady Lions will face in the Bahamas, especially with Princeton opening the tournament. “Obviously, we’re really excited for these two games coming up, because it’ll be another great test for us, both NCAA tournament teams, both have a style that is similar to St. Joe’s, where they play five out and do some things there. So I think St. Joe’s was a really good warm-up game with the five out to prepare us for Princeton.”

Princeton’s style, however, comes with a different level of discipline, especially on the defensive end. Kieger noted the Tigers’ personnel awareness and physical rotation will challenge Penn State’s ball movement in their half-court.

“They’re really disciplined defensively. They play personnel really well. They rotate their heavy help team. Love to flood the baseline. Drives. Love to gap help and get in there and build a wall, as we say.” Kieger mentioned. “So we’re going to have to make those penetrating pitches, those one more passes. But they’ve always hung their head on defense… one of the toughest defensive teams in the country.”

The Tigers enter the matchup 3-1 after opening their season with road wins over Georgia Tech and Villanova, along with a competitive showing against No. 7 Maryland, and a fourth-quarter comeback over Rice on Wednesday.

The squad rallied from behind in three of its four victories, outscoring Georgia Tech 24-11 and Villanova 23-14 in the fourth quarter before holding Rice to six fourth-quarter points. Forward Fadima Tall has led the Tigers with multiple standout performances, including 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists against Rice.

Penn State will open Battle 4 Atlantis play against Princeton at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, in Paradise Island. The winner will advance to face either San Diego State or Eastern Maryland Shore.