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UNIVERSITY PARK -- Powered by a 20-point performance from redshirt sophomore Gracie Merkle and the first collegiate double-double from freshman forward Cam Rust, the Penn State Lady Lion basketball team rolled to an 89-57 victory over the Canisius Thursday night at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State picked up its second win of the season and improved to 2-0 for the fifth season in a row. The Lady Lions came away with a win in the first all-time meeting between Penn State and Canisius. Canisius fell to 0-2.
Merkle finished shooting 9-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe with six boards, two assists and three blocks. Senior guard Jayla Oden impressed in her second straight start, dropping 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting with a pair of 3-point makes and a perfect 2-for-2 trip to the line.
Oden mustered three rebounds and three assists with a steal in her 20 minutes of work. Meanwhile, Rust booked her first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 10 boards in her second career appearance, accomplishing that feat in a mere 13 minutes of work on the floor.
Bellwood-Antis grad Alli Campbell finished with eight points, four steals, four assists and one rebound as a starter for the Lady Lions.
Penn State put the game away in the first quarter, winning it 31-9.
The Lady Lions hauled in the opening tip and struck first seconds later, with Gabby Elliott draining a turnaround jumper from short range to get things rolling. Offensive rebounding was the name of the game for PSU early on, with the Lady Lions capitalizing on a pair of boards to generate back-to-back layups, and force a Canisius timeout with Penn State leading 6-0 just over 90 seconds into the contest.
The Golden Griffins got on the board out of the break, but an emphatic 14-0 run from PSU in response, capped off by a jumper, from Murray forced yet another Canisius timeout with 4:49 to go in the period. Boasting a dominant 20-2 advantage, Penn State continued the intensity out of the brief timeout, with Oden finding the bottom of the net with a triple and crafty driving layup in the final two-and-a-half minutes to push the Lady Lions to the 31-9 lead, never to look back.
The Lady Lions dominated every statistical measure, highlighted by a 38-for-71 night shooting from the floor for a 54% field goal percentage.
They held the Golden Griffins to 37% shooting from the field.
Penn State won the turnover differential by a 24-18 margin and turned the Canisius giveaways into a 26-15 victory in points off turnovers. PSU dominated on the glass thanks to an impressive night from the Lady Lion post players, amassing a 45-31 victory on the glass. PSU was effective in the paint as well, generating a 66-28 differential down low. The Lady Lions surpassed the 30-point threshold in the first quarter for the second straight game and cracked 89 points or more for the second game in a row.
Penn State hosts Duquesne Sunday at 1 p.m.
CANISIUS (0-2): Carvajal Caro 1-3 0-0 2, Gailes 2-6 5-5 9, Johnson 4-8 0-0 11, Santoro 1-4 0-0 2, Wittenberg 3-8 3-6 10, Djibril 3-5 0-0 6, Rey Pineda 3-8 0-1 6, Sanogo 1-4 0-0 2, Clay 0-1 0-0 0, Copple 3-8 0-0 7, Karatasiou 0-2 0-0 0, Moses 0-1 0-0 0, Randolph 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 22-59 8-12 57
PENN STATE (2-0): Merkle 9-13 2-3 20, Campbell 3-4 2-2 8, Elliott 4-7 0-0 9, Murray 3-9 2-2 8, Oden 4-6 2-2 12, Hall 4-9 0-0 8, Johnson 2-6 0-0 4, Rust 5-8 0-2 10, Jekot 0-0 0-0 0, Santana 1-4 0-0 2, Steele 1-1 0-0 3, Walker 2-4 1-1 5, Totals 38-71 9-12 89
SCORE BY QURTERS
Canisius 6 15 26 10 -- 57
Penn State 31 18 17 23 -- 89
3-Point Goals: Canisius 5-22 (Johnson 3-5, Santoro 0-3, Wittenberg 1-3, Rey Pineda 0-2, Sanogo 0-1, Clay 0-1, Copple 1-5, Karatasiou 0-2), Penn St. 4-15 (Campbell 0-1, Elliott 1-3, Murray 0-5, Oden 2-3, Santana 0-1, Steele 1-1, Walker 0-1). Assists: Canisius 13 (Johnson 4), Penn St. 24 (Campbell 4, Johnson 4, Santana 4). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Canisius 31 (Djibril 8, Gailes 8), Penn St. 45 (Rust 10). A--1,741.