UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's basketball team dropped a 94-83 decision against Minnesota in its regular season finale on Sunday in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lady Lions are 11-17 overall and 5-13 in the Big Ten, while Minnesota improved to 14-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
Before the game, Penn State honored Niya Beverley and Kelly Jekot as part of Senior Day presented by the Penn State Alumni Association.
Makenna Marisa led the Lady Lions with 28 points, hitting 11-of-20 shots, seven rebounds and four assists. Marisa recorded her 18th 20-point game this season and 13th 25-point performance. The junior scored 20 of her 28 in the second half. She now has four 20-point halves this season: 20 vs. Delaware State (first), 24 at Maryland (second), 25 at Purdue (second) and 20 vs. Minnesota (second).
Tova Sabel contributed a career-high 19 points, with an efficient seven-of-eight shooting. Beverley had nine points and three assists, while Ali Brigham had nine points off the bench. Penn State finished with a 38-2 advantage in bench points. The Lady Lions shot 50 percent from the floor (29-of-58), but only 19 percent from three (3-of-16). PSU shot 53 percent in the first quarter and 62 percent in the third. The Lady Lions were 22-of-25 from the free throw line.
Minnesota had a pair of 30-point scorers. Kadiatou Sissoko recorded 32 points and 14 rebounds, while Sara Scalia had 32 points, including eight three-pointers, and eight boards. Laura Bagwell Katalinich added 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Golden Gophers grabbed 22 offensive rebounds and turned that into 22 second-chance points. Minnesota shot 44 percent from the field (34-of-78) and 48 percent from three (10-of-21).
Minnesota jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the first five minutes. Bagwell Katalinich tallied eight points, while Sissoko had five. PSU responded with a 6-0 run to close the deficit to 15-12. Shay Hagans, Marisa and Sabel each had buckets during the run. Minnesota scored seven of the final 11 points of the quarter to hold a 22-16 lead.
The second quarter began with a 7-0 run by the Gophers, sparked by a three by Scalia and layups by Sissoko and Bagwell Katalinich, to extend their lead to 29-16. The Lady Lions were boosted by six straight points from Marisa to climb back within 10, 32-22, with 4:51 left in the half. After a jumper by Scalia and a layup by Kayla Mershon, Penn State closed the half with a 6-2 stretch with four points by Hagans and two by Beverley. Penn State trailed 38-28 at the break.
The third quarter featured both teams trading big runs. The Gophers started the period on a 12-0 run, including back-to-back threes by Scalia. Penn State answered with a 12-2 run, featuring seven points by Marisa and five by Sabel. Penn State trailed 52-40 at the 5:06 mark. Ninety seconds later, a layup by Sabel and a pair of free throws by Camden cut the deficit to 58-49 with 2:22 remaining. Minnesota scored the next six points, with a layup by Deja Winters and back-to-back buckets by Sissoko. Penn State tallied five of the final seven points of the quarter, including a three-point play by Marisa. Penn State trailed 66-54 after three quarters.
Penn State climbed back into the game at the free throw line, hitting six in the first 80 seconds of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 68-60 with 8:42 remaining. However, Minnesota responded with a 14-4 run, starting with eight straight points by Scalia and finishing with six consecutive points by Sissoko, to take an 82-64 lead at the 5:36 mark, and cruised to the final margin.
The Lady Lions travel to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament. The tournament begins on Wednesday, March 2, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and finishes with the championship game on Sunday, March 6.
Tova Sabel