Penn State’s women’s basketball (7-15, 0-11 Big Ten) was outperformed by Minnesota (15-6, 6-4 Big Ten) 87-66 at Rec Hall on Wednesday evening.

Gracie Merkle missed her second straight game for the Lady Lions. Kyiomi McMiller finished with points in the loss.

How It Happened

The Lady Lions trailed early after a Tori McKinney 3-pointer to open the game. A few possessions later, Tèa Clèante hit back-to-back triples to give Penn State its first lead of the evening. Minnesota led the blue and white 9-8 at the first media timeout.

Out of the break, head coach Carolyn Kieger went to a full-court press in an attempt to stall the Gophers’ offense. Moriah Murray missed a mid-range jumper on Penn State’s end of the floor before Minnesota extended its lead.

Murray responded with a triple after a quick stoppage of play, but the Lady Lions still trailed 15-11 late in the first quarter. The Gophers continued to hurt Penn State in transition and in the paint. Brylee Glenn ended the opening frame witha backdoor cut and layup, leading by seven points after the first 10 minutes.

Minnesota opened the second quarter by drilling another triple. Penn State responded defensively by returning to the press, but cheap fouls hurt the Lady Lions. In the midst of a 17-4 Gopher run, Penn State missed on four consecutive 3-point attempts.

Murray finally broke the seal and connected with an easy jumper to stop the bleeding offensively. McMiller drilled a deep triple, followed up by a corner 3-pointer from Clèante, and Penn State had life again, trailing 30-25 with 4:53 remaining in the first half.

After a timeout, Viktoria Ranisavljevic and Murray both rattled home 3-pointers, and in the blink of an eye, Penn State held a 31-30 lead, forcing a Minnesota timeout. Both teams traded buckets on the ensuing possessions, and it was a one-possession lead for the Gophers with under two minutes to play in the half.

Clèante hit a mid-range jumper from the elbow, but McKinney responded with a corner 3 on the other end, and Minnesota led the Lady Lions 42-38 at the break. Maggie Mendelson turned it over on Penn State’s opening possession of the third quarter.

Minnesota controlled the tempo of the first few minutes of the second half and led 47-40 early. McMiller went to work from there for the Nittany Lions and drilled a step-back two-pointer to cut into the deficit. The Gophers went on another run from there, and in a few possessions, their lead was back to double digits.

After a media timeout, Murray drilled another 3-pointer to continue her impressive night. After a defensive stop, Sophie Hart made a layup for the Gophers, and they led 61-48 over the Lady Lions. A few more back-and-forth possessions ensued before the end of the third quarter.

Minnesota led 67-55 at the start of the final quarter. Mendelson opened the scoring in the fourth for Penn State after a Gopher triple on the other end of the court. McMiller added to her total with another jumper as Penn State held on to any life it could find. Minnesota drilled two more triples, and Kieger was forced to call a timeout with under seven minutes remaining.

Sloppy possessions by both teams characterized the next few minutes, but the Gophers continued to find points, extending their lead. Kieger called a few more timeouts in the closing minutes in an attempt to rally her team, but it was too late for the Lady Lions.

Minnesota closed it out at Rec Hall in the final minutes, continuing to hit from distance. The Gophers beat the Lady Lions 87-66.

Takeaways

• It was a game of runs for both teams at Rec Hall. A streaky first half shooting from both teams left the game close at halftime.
• Penn State shot poorly from the field in the first half. The Lady Lions only converted 13 of 36 shot attempts in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
• The Lady Lions remain winless in Big Ten play after their loss to the Gophers. A disappointing season continues for Penn State as it searches for success down the stretch.

What’s Next?

The Lady Lions head back on the road to play Purdue at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4, in West Lafayette. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.