Penn State women’s basketball (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) took down Yale (1-7, 0-0) by a score of 82-64 to conclude Thanksgiving weekend.

Yale, coming off their first win of the season, hung around Penn State for much of the first half, but struggled mightily against the Lady Lions’ defense as they forced 24 total turnovers. Penn State separated itself from Yale in the second half and easily collected their sixth win of the season.

How It Happened

Penn State won the tip-off and quickly established its offense with Gracie Merkle leading the charge. She got assisted in the paint for a contested lay-up to open the scoring. Yale’s first few possessions consisted of missed shots, and the Lady Lions started on a 6-0 scoring run as Moriah Murray created an open lay-up in transition.

Scoreless in the first three minutes of play, Yale’s Ciniya Moore got a dish from Marisa Chapman to nail a three-pointer from the wing and end the drought. It now became the Lady Lions who had not scored in multiple possessions, yet they still led 6-5 following a layup by Chapman.

Penn State jumped out to another six-point lead due to sloppy possessions by the Bulldogs, which opened up opportunities to score. Tea Cleante hit the first three-pointer of the game for Penn State, and Merkle dominated the paint for another two.

Only halfway through the first quarter, both defenses were ball-hawking and created four turnovers on both sides of the court. Penn State’s first possession out of a media timeout was ended abruptly by Chapman as she tipped the ball away and went coast-to-coast for an easy two points.

With a score of 13-7 in Penn State’s favor, coach Carolyn Kieger called for a full-court press into a zone defense. However, Yale was prepared. They broke the press and zone with fluent passing and purposeful cuts. Despite the score, the pressure seemed to flip onto the Lady Lions with a few minutes left in the first as Yale continuously broke their defense and contained Merkle to the best of their ability.

Penn State’s defense forced yet another turnover in Yale’s final possession, but was unable to convert it into points, and the first quarter came to a close, 19-15 Lady Lions.

Kiyomi McMiller set the tone for the second frame with a step-back midrange, giving Penn State its six-point lead back. They forced a turnover to keep Yale off the board two minutes into the second quarter, and Cleante transitioned it into a basket and the foul. Yale’s next two possessions were cut short by turnovers due to the Lady Lions’ press, which they now struggled to break.

At the 7-minute mark, with a score of 23-17 Penn State, both teams had eight turnovers, although Penn State’s defense was more deserving of its forced turnovers.

With Merkle off the court in the middle minutes of the second quarter, Penn State only made one of its last seven field goal attempts. Even so, they held a six-point lead. And right on cue, Merkle checked in to end Penn State’s drought, making it a 27-19 game.

Yale finally got their offense going around the four-minute mark. Through six minutes of play, they had scored only four points, but within thirty seconds, they scored four more, and a timeout was called, 27-23 Lady Lions.

Fresh out of the break, Luisa Vydrova nailed a wide-open three to cut the lead to one. The Lady Lions’ defense still seemed impenetrable as McMiller blocked a drive, but Vydrova picked up the pieces to give Yale its first lead.

Ke’iara Odume expanded the lead with a jumper, but Murray swung it back in Penn State’s favor with a three from the wing. The two teams exchanged shots until the remaining minute of play. Penn State made three consecutive shots, capped off by an unreal half-court heave by Murray to beat the buzzer. 39-32 Lady Lions at half.

Murray and Merkle led the scoring at half with 10 and 12 points, respectively, but the team tallied 13 turnovers to Yale’s 11 in the first half.

Merkle opened up the scoring in the second half, as she did in the first, with a layup to give Penn State its largest lead of the day. That lead would expand to 11 as Murray took an inbound pass coast-to-coast for a contested two. The Lady Lions dominated early on.

Yale started to cut back into the lead with a few fastbreak layups following Penn State turnovers. Kieger called a timeout with six minutes left of the third quarter and a lead of seven.

Both teams were playing fast, just as they were early on, but it was not working out for either offense. Out of the break, Chapman rushed a pass and turned it over, and a rushed layup by Nyla McFadden gave it right back. Neither offense had scored in over a minute of play, yet each team had numerous possessions.

Finally, the Lady Lions got Merkle involved on an offensive inbound, and McMiller scored easily with a lefty lay. Following her steal on one end of the court, Murray used an off-ball screen to drain a three for a twelve-point lead.

With four minutes left in the third, Murray swung the ball to Cleante on a fast break for a contested two points, and the Lady Lions seemingly broke the game open. Defensively, they switched between zone and man, which forced Yale to call a timeout down 16 points at the two-minute mark.

In Penn State’s final possession of the quarter, Murray sank her fourth three of the game for a 20-point lead. Yale’s Dorka Kastle negated that three, however, with a buzzer-beater of her own to end the third. 64-47, Lady Lions.

Kicking off the fourth frame, Capstraw got a jumper to go, but Merkle quickly responded with a two to maintain the 17-point lead. Yale finally got to the free-throw line with eight minutes left in the game, but Kastl missed both opportunities.

Throughout the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs were unable to take a bite out of the Penn State lead in the early minutes; every Yale basket was nullified by Penn State responding with its own.

The Lady Lions expanded their lead as Yale went scoreless for three minutes in the middle of the quarter. Two of their scoring leaders, McMiller and Merkle, scored consecutive baskets to make it a 25-point lead.

Nearing a four-minute scoreless drought, Yale called a timeout with only four minutes left to rally. Time was dwindling on Yale as their deficit remained in the twenties, and Penn State would not let up.

With twenty seconds to go, Yale turned the ball over, and the Lady Lions dribbled the clock out as they ended the weekend with an 82-64 win over the Bulldogs.

Takeaway

• Penn State’s defense corrupted Yale with their press and aggressive hands, forcing 24 total turnovers and collecting 15 steals.
• Despite their aggressive nature on defense, the Lady Lions tallied only eight personal fouls, and only one player had multiple.
• Penn State’s scoring was divided up among Moriah Murray, Kiyomi McMiller, and Gracie Merkle as all three put up 18+ points.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions will continue their homestand next weekend, except this time at the Bryce Jordan Center, taking on Nebraska for their first Big Ten matchup on Saturday, December 6. The game will be streamed on BTN+.