Lady Lions crush Niagara, move to 4-0
Trending
UNIVERSITY PARK -- In a dominant performance that featured all 13 Lady Lions, the Penn State women's basketball team rolled to its fourth consecutive victory Thursday, coming away with a 101-45 victory over the Niagara Purple Eagles at the Jordan Center.
Redshirt sophomore center Gracie Merkle was dominant in her 15 minutes of effort, dropping a season-high 24 points on a 10-for-12 shooting from the floor. Merkle, a native of Kentucky, hauled in seven rebounds in addition to her shooting performance. Redshirt sophomore guard Moriah Murray continued her strong stretch from beyond the arc, going 5-for-10 from deep en route to her third double-digit scoring performance of the year with 17 points. Freshman guard Talayah Walker poured in a career-best 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the field in addition to a quartet of free throw makes, while graduate guard Gabby Elliott rounded out the quartet of Lady Lions (4-0) in double figures with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
Penn State's veteran tandem of returning guards in graduate Alli Campbell and senior Jayla Oden were both precise in the passing game, with the Baltimore, Md., native Oden surpassing her career high in assists with nine. Oden's nine feeds outpaced a seven-assist effort on March 3, 2022, during her stint at Illinois. For Campbell, the Bellwood-Antis graduate mustered six assists to go along with seven points and four rebounds, an all-around impactful outing from PSU's most experienced collegian. Oden and Campbell combined for 15 assists against just three turnovers, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.00.
Turnovers maligned the opening minute of action, but Campbell delivered a dime to Murray in the left corner for the opening triple of the game for the Lady Lions. Niagara replied with a layup on the ensuing possession, but PSU's offense was able to break the Purple Eagle press moments later for an easy layup from Merkle. Niagara found the bottom of the net from the left corner to deadlock the game, but a 1-for-2 trip to the line from Campbell put Penn State ahead by one. After the Purple Eagles tied things back up at 6-all, PSU engaged in a 5-0 scoring run highlighted by a Merkle and-one to force a Niagara timeout with Penn State leading 11-6. Out of the media break, teams traded baskets before the Lady Lions snapped off a 9-0 run highlighted by some pristine passing to take a 23-9 advantage. Penn State closed on an 8-0 scoring run to take a 33-13 lead following the first period.
Penn State continued to roll and led 57-20 at halftime on its way to its fourth consecutive victory, marking the third consecutive season with a 4-0 start or better. Penn State climbed to 3-0 against the Purple Eagles all-time, crossing the 100-point scoring threshold for the second time in the three combined meetings. In defeat, the Purple Eagles fell to 0-3 overall.
The Lady Lions were dominant in nearly every statistical measure, highlighted by a Jordan Center field goal percentage record of 62% from the floor. PSU connected on 39-of-63 combined field goal attempts and buried 8-of-21 attempts from beyond the arc. Penn State out-shot the Purple Eagles 62% to 28% differential from the field as well as a 38% to 25% differential from 3-point range. PSU was clinical down low, outscoring Niagara 60-20 in the paint while hauling in a 46-24 margin on the glass. The Lady Lions were also elite in fastbreak opportunities, mustering 38 points in up-tempo opportunities while holding the Purple Eagles to just eight points in fastbreak chances.
The Lady Lions host Monmouth Sunday at 1 p.m.
NIAGARA (0-3): Dial 6-16 1-1 18, Kolliegbo 2-7 0-2 4, Rutledge 2-8 0-0 4, Strong 2-10 2-4 6, Dickerson 0-8 0-0 0, Lacroix 0-1 2-4 2, Williams 1-2 1-2 3, Barnes 1-5 0-0 2, Otis 3-4 0-0 6, Totals 17-61 6-13 45
PENN STATE (4-0): Merkle 10-12 4-4 24, Campbell 3-6 1-2 7, Elliott 5-7 0-0 11, Murray 5-10 2-2 17, Oden 4-7 0-0 9, Hall 1-3 3-3 5, Johnson 2-2 0-0 4, Rust 2-3 1-2 5, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Jekot 3-6 0-2 7, Santana 0-1 0-0 0, Steele 0-1 0-0 0, Walker 4-4 4-4 12, Totals 39-63 15-19 101
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Niagara 13 7 19 6 — 45
Penn State 33 24 22 22 — 10
3-point goals--Niagara 5-20 (Dial 5-13, Kolliegbo 0-1, Dickerson 0-4, Barnes 0-2), Penn St. 8-21 (Campbell 0-1, Elliott 1-2, Murray 5-10, Oden 1-3, Jekot 1-4, Santana 0-1). Assists--Niagara 11 (Kolliegbo 4), Penn St. 27 (Oden 9). Fouled Out--Niagara Lacroix, Strong. Rebounds--Niagara 24 (Lacroix 4, Rutledge 4), Penn St. 46 (Merkle 7). Total Fouls--Niagara 22, Penn St. 17. Technical Fouls--None. A--2,311.