UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women’s basketball made history on Wednesday afternoon with an 86-78 overtime win against Drexel, marking its 17th consecutive non-conference home court win, a program record. With the resilient win over the Dragons, the Lady Lions move to 8-0 on the season for the first time since 1993-94. Redshirt-sophomore Gracie Merkle and graduate student Gabby Elliott paced the Blue & White throughout the contest, both scoring in double figures.
The Lady Lions matched their best start to a campaign since 1993-94 with the overtime win today, their first contest that has gone to extra time this season. Penn State showed grit in the paint to pull out the victory, outscoring Drexel 56-34. The nation’s assists leaders, continued their productive pass game with 26 assists in today’s match up, marking the seventh time this season the Lady Lions have produced 20-plus assists. Despite five tie scores and two lead changes, Penn State proved its strength and determination in the overtime period, holding the Dragons to just four points while scoring 12 of its own.
Merkle continued her dominant double-double tear with her fourth consecutive double-double and fifth this season. Her five games with 10-plus points and rebounds ranks her third in the nation in the category. The 6’6 center produced a season best 31 points and 11 rebounds. Merkle contributed to key moments in the game using free throws, drawing eight fouls and shooting nine-of-11 from the charity stripe. Six of her 11 boards came on the offensive glass as she continues to sit in the top ranks in the country in offensive rebounds. Elliott also posted season best numbers with 16 points and 10 rebounds, her first double-of her career, shooting eight-of-10 from the field.
Penn State’s 26 assists were paced by Moriah Murray with a career high eight and Alli Campbell matching her personal best at eight. Campbell also produced her third consecutive double figure scoring outing with 11 points to go with seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Penn State grabbed the opening tipoff and converted its first two points after a trio of rebounds on the offensive glass. Despite a duo of made three pointers from the Dragons, the Lady Lions maintained their advantage using five points from Murray. Penn State put up six unanswered points before Drexel found the basket again but the Blue & White still held a 16-8 edge heading into the media timeout. After a pair of free throws issued to Drexel, another 6-0 streak led by Merkle with four of the points off passes from Murray and Campbell, forced the visitors to use a timeout. Penn State expanded its lead by a nine-point margin, sealing a 30-21 score after the first period played. Murray’s contributions to the Penn State lead in the first quarter came from five points but also her five assists, reaching a career best in just 10 minutes of play. Merkle also found herself in double figures early on, posting 10 points in the first quarter.
Second Quarter
After Drexel began the quarter on a 7-2 run, the Lady Lions found their pace in the paint with back-to-back layups. Drexel pulled within one point twice in the second stanza, but Merkle kept Penn State ahead until another scoring streak for the Dragons, using seven unanswered points to tie the score at 45-45 with just over a minute to play. Merkle once again played a key role in guiding the Lady Lions to 49-45 score at the half, finishing with 19 points after two quarters.
Third Quarter
The Lady Lions opened the third period scoring with a pair of buckets from Campbell and Jayla Oden to extend their lead to 53-45 before Drexel answered with a three pointer. Six consecutive points for the Dragons knotted the score once again at 54-54 before Murray and Elliott pushed Penn State back in the lead. Drexel continued to press, keeping the margin within four points until the Lady Lions strung together a sequence of stops on the defensive to go with four points of their own to extend their lead to 64-59 but Drexel answered with a basket from long range to pull within three once again. PSU got the last word of the stanza, making the score after three periods 66-61.
Fourth Quarter
The Blue & White forced a turnover in the early seconds of the final period and Campbell converted one point using a free throw after forcing a foul on the offensive end. After holding the Dragons from scoring for the first two minutes, the Dragons finally managed to get on the board with 8:02 on the clock. Eight consecutive unanswered points gave Drexel its first advantage of the afternoon at a 71-68 clip. Merkle added to her point total with two shots from the charity stripe to keep the score within one followed by four back-to-back stops on defense to put the ball back on Penn State’s offensive half of the court, but the team was unable to convert until the final chance, using a fastbreak layup from Elliott off a pass from Campbell to put the Lady Lions back ahead. Another bucket from Merkle with an assist from Shaelyn Steele extended the margin to four points, forcing Drexel to use a timeout. Following the break in action, the Dragons pulled out a shot from long range to tie the score back at 74-74 with just over one minute to go as head coach Carolyn Kieger used a timeout. Out of the break, Cambell produced a key block to put the ball back with Penn State on the offensive end with just under 30 seconds remaining. Neither team could convert in the final time remaining, sending the game into overtime
Overtime
The Dragons got the ball first in the overtime stanza, but Penn State’s defense pulled through with a stop on two occasions. Penn State drew first blood after a three-point play from Merkle. Campbell followed up with a two-point jumper after Elliott grabbed the board on defense to extend the score to 79-74 with just over two minutes to play. Oden secured the rebound on the insuring defensive possession and drew a foul on the offensive end to put another point on the board. Drexel found the basket, adding four points but Elliott’s back-to-back points kept PSU ahead by 84-78 with under a minute remaining. A turnover forced on defense allowed Merkle to take another trip to the charity stripe to surpass the 30-point mark and leave the final score at 86-78.
POSTGAME NOTES
Penn State vs. Drexel
November 27, 2024
Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, Pa.)
- The Lady Lions earned their 17th consecutive non-conference home court win, marking the longest stretch of that kind in school history.
- Penn State moves to 8-0 for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign.
- Merkle continued her double-double tear, producing her fourth consecutive and fifth of the season with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Her five double-doubles ranks her third in the country
- Elliott posted her third double figure scoring outing of the year with 16 points to go with 10 rebounds, good for her first double-double of her career.
- Campbell put up 11 points for her third-straight game reaching double figures to go with her career best eight assists and seven boards.
- Murray notched a career high eight assists to go along with nine points before exiting the game due to injury.
- The Lady Lions totaled 26 assists, their seventh game posting 20 or more passes this season.
- There were five tie scores and two lead changes throughout the contest.
- This was Penn State’s first overtime game of the season.
- Penn State scored 30 points in the first quarter, its fifth time scoring 30 or more pos in the first quarter this season.
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