Penn State women’s basketball (7-13, 0-9 Big Ten) fell to Washington (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten) 81-65 at Alaska Airlines Arena on Wednesday night.

After going down by as much as 12 points early on, the Lady Lions surged back with a strong second quarter, but they couldn’t keep pace with the Huskies for the remainder of the game. The failed comeback effort extends their losing streak to nine games.

How It Happened

After securing the tip, Washington was immediately turned over by a steal from Shaelyn Steele. Kiyomi McMiller quickly let a 3 fly on her first touch, but couldn’t get it to fall. The Huskies struck first on a 3-pointer from Avery Howell, but McMiller and Gracie Merkle each answered with a layup for Penn State to cut into Washington’s early 5-4 lead.

Thanks to a flurry of buckets from Brynn McGaughy, the Huskies put together a 10-2 scoring run to go up 17-8 late into the first quarter.

McMiller splashed a 3 to narrow the gap, but McGaughy dropped in another layup to offset the efforts.

To begin the second quarter, McMiller snatched a defensive rebound and pushed the pace, setting up Vitoria Santana beautifully for a transition 3-pointer that made it 21-14.

EASYYYY for V #LionMentality pic.twitter.com/Dbeiyqw0XQ

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) January 22, 2026

Washington peppered another five unanswered points onto its lead, but McMiller sank a pair of pull-up jump shots to keep Penn State treading water.

After a travel on McGaughy, Penn State’s offense began to attack the paint, as Merkle found back-to-back buckets down low. Steele and Nyla McFadden each found their way into the paint as well, cutting into the 31-26 Husky lead. McFadden got a mid-range jumper to go, making it a one-possession game for the first time since the six-minute mark of the first quarter.

After another turnover by Washington, Merkle dropped in her fourth bucket of the night, inching Penn State closer to a lead.

Then, Viktoria Ranisavljevic’s 3-pointer gave the Lady Lions their first lead of the night. Washington quickly took back the lead after a 3-pointer from Howell, but the damage had already been done. Penn State fought its way back into the ballgame.

VIKI FOR THREE AND THE LEAD #LionMentality pic.twitter.com/HyZIFBNPey

— Penn State Women's Basketball (@PennStateWBB) January 22, 2026

As the final moments of the first half dwindled, Merkle scored from her usual spot in the paint to send Penn State into the locker room down 38-37.

Fourteen seconds into the second half, McFadden splashed a 3-pointer to put Penn State on top 40-38, but turned around on defense to foul Howell, who was in the act of shooting, leading to free throws for the Huskies.

McMiller notched her first points of the second half with a shallow jumper that maintained the 42-42 gridlock.

Washington pulled ahead with a pair of trips to the line, resulting in four made free throws. Then, Steele and McGaughy traded jump shots, leaving the Huskies on top 50-46.

After a series of misses led to a two-minute scoring drought for both teams, Elle Ladine ran the floor for a fastbreak layup. Building off that, Devin Coppinger nailed a 3-pointer to keep the momentum going for Washington. Merkle managed a turnaround jumper, but Sayvia Sellers made a pair of layups, one of which went for an and-one opportunity, extending the Huskies 60-49 lead at the end of the third quarter.

After Howell sank another 3, a second-chance layup fell for the Huskies, prompting Carolyn Kieger to burn an early timeout early on in the final quarter of action.

Tea Cleante hit a 3-pointer out of the break, but Washington kept pace with a layup from Sellers. Another three from Coppinger extended the Huskies’ 72-58 lead with just four minutes to play.

Back-to-back layups by Hannah Stines put the nail in the coffin with the Huskies up 18 late in the fourth quarter

Takeaways

• Shaelyn Steele had a strong two-way impact for Penn State. The sophomore totaled eight points, four assists, and seven rebounds, and secured two steals on defense.
• The Lady Lions shot just seven free throws, making three, while the Huskies shot 15, making 12. That large discrepancy between free-throw performance was a large reason Penn State’s offense couldn’t sustain.
• Penn State’s inability to defend the open court in transition was another reason it didn’t come away with a win tonight. Washington scored 20 fast-break points compared to Penn State’s seven.

What’s Next?

Penn State remains on the West Coast for a matchup against Oregon on Saturday, January 24, at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.