UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – 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 a solid 89-57 victory over the Canisius Golden Griffins Thursday evening inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Lady Lions and head coach Carolyn Kieger welcomed the return of 2023-24 assistant coach Tiffany Swoffard to the BJC Thursday night, with Swoffard continuing her inaugural season as the head coach at Canisius. Golden Griffin assistant coach Courtney Roman also made her return to the Penn State campus, as the 2022 and 2024 Penn State graduate joined Swoffard’s staff following six seasons as an undergraduate student and graduate assistant coach in Happy Valley. Both Lady Lion coaching alumnae were honored before the start of Thursday’s matchup with flowers and a standing ovation from the Penn State fan base.
On the court, Penn State picked up its second win of the season and improved to 2-0 through its first two contests 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, with the programs meeting for the first time in their combined 111 years of women’s basketball existence. In defeat, Canisius falls to 0-2 with one contest remaining on their three-game trek through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against Saint Francis on Monday.
Thursday night’s final box score saw the Lady Lions dominate by practically every statistical measure, highlighted by a 38-for-71 night shooting from the floor for a 54% field goal percentage, all the while holding 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 remarkably effective in the paint as well, generating a stark 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.
On an individual basis, the Mount Washington, Kentucky, native booked her 13th career 20-point game and second 20-point outing in her two opportunities in Happy Valley. 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.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Lady Lions hauled in the opening tip and struck first seconds later, with 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 Blue & White 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 were able to get 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 Golden Griffin 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 a 31-6 advantage through 10 minutes.
Second Quarter
Canisius returned to action following the quarter break and opened the second period with an and-one opportunity, but the Golden Griffins missed the free throw to allow PSU an opportunity to reset. Elliott drilled a triple from the left wing a couple possessions later, but the squads would exchange buckets over the next three minutes en route to a 43-17 advantage for Penn State with little more than five minutes to play in the frame. Rust was remarkably effective in her first action of the contest, hitting a physical layup followed by a hook shot later in the period to power a 45-17 Lady Lion lead at the media timeout. Both teams dialed up the defensive intensity over the final few minutes of the half, highlighted by impressive two-way play from Merkle capped off by an emphatic block in the final two minutes. The Golden Griffins published back-to-back field goal makes to close the half, with Penn State carrying a 49-21 lead into the intermission.
Third Quarter
The Golden Griffins rolled out of the halftime break on the offensive end of the floor, with Canisius rattling off a 9-2 run in the opening two minutes to cut the Lady Lion lead back to 21 points. Campbell connected with Merkle for an easy layup down low to slow the Golden Griffin momentum, but Canisius drilled a short jumper and drew a blocking foul on the other end to force a PSU timeout with 6:52 in the period. Neither team generated much offense until an emphatic and-one chance from Rust that helped generate a 6-0 scoring run for the Blue & White, leading to a 59-32 Lady Lion edge. Canisius snapped back with a fastbreak layup and free throw make, but physical play down low from Merkle generated an and-one that led to a personal 5-1 run. The Golden Griffins responded with an 11-2 run over the final 2:39 in the frame to make it a 66-47 Lady Lion lead with one quarter left to play.
Fourth Quarter
Merkle got things started for Penn State with a basket on the team’s opening possession, and a Golden Griffin turnover set up another offensive opportunity for the Lady Lions with Merkle sent to the line after a Canisius foul. The offense continued to flow after Merkle split her shots at the charity stripe, with Murray finding Campbell on the fastbreak just before Campbell assisted Merkle on a post-up opportunity in the restricted area. With the Blue & White leading by a 75-52 tally, Penn State embarked on a 6-0 run highlighted by a Merkle post-up and a pair of fastbreak layups from Murray and Campbell. The Golden Griffins sank another triple just before the media break, with Penn State maintaining an 81-55 advantage with 4:21 to go. The Lady Lions held Canisius without a score for well over two minutes, buckling down defensively in the waning moments of the game. PSU closed the game out on an 8-2 run and closed the book on a decisive 89-57 victory to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
POSTGAME NOTES
Canisius at Penn State
November 7, 2024
Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, Pa.)
- The Lady Lions continued their non-conference home court win streak, extending to 13 consective victorious games, the fourth longest stretch in program history
- Penn State began the game on a 25-4 run through the first eight minutes.
- The Lady Lions totaled 31 points in the first quarter, their second consecutive contest putting up 30-plus-points in the opening stanza.
- Penn State produced a 28-point margin at the halftime break.
- The Lady Lions outscored the Griffins 66-28 in the paint.
- PSU’s margin of victory was 32 points
- Merkle surpassed 500 career points with 20 points. She also grabbed six boards and three blocks.
- Rust had a breakout evening with her first collegiate double-double using 10 points and 10 rebounds.
- Oden bounced back with 12 points on four-of-six shooting from the field including two-of-three from three-point range.
- Campbell had a well-rounded night, posting eight points, four assists and four steals.
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