PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Driven by a dominant 24-point, 18-rebound double-double from redshirt sophomore center Gracie Merkle, the Penn State women’s basketball capitalized on a second-half surge to bring home a 68-51 win in the team’s first true road matchup against the Providence Friars Wednesday night inside Alumni Hall.
The Blue & White put an end to a two-game losing skid and returned to the win column in emphatic fashion Wednesday evening in New England, with the Lady Lions improving to 9-2 overall through their first 11 matchups of the 2024-25 campaign. Penn State once again managed to extend its dominant lead over the Friars following the eighth all-time matchup of the two programs. PSU improved to 8-0 against Providence since the teams first met in the 1984-85 season, with the Lady Lions managing back-to-back victories under the direction of head coach Carolyn Kieger dating to last year’s matchup in the Bryce Jordan Center. In defeat, the Friars move to 6-6 overall this year with the team’s non-conference finale against Merrimack scheduled for Saturday, December 14, at Noon.
Penn State once again dominated the rebounding battle, taking home a win in that statistical category for the 11th time in 11 games this year. The Lady Lions outrebounded the Friars by a 44-29 differential and nearly doubled Providence up on the offensive boards, winning the offensive rebounding battle by a 13-7 margin. The Blue & White had an impressive showing in the painted area, with the Lady Lions amassing 36 points in the paint against just 24 from the Friars. Penn State also utilized its emphatic rebounding advantage on the offensive boards to run up an impressive 13-2 victory in terms of second chance points.
Merkle finished the night just two rebounds shy of a 20-20 double-double, with the Mount Washington, Kentucky, native amassing a 24-point, 18-rebound performance. Penn State’s powerful post presence shot 66.6% from the floor, going 10-for-15 in an all-around impressive evening of work in Rhode Island. Merkle’s 18 rebounds marked her most impressive individual showing on the glass since transferring to Penn State, with her season-high showing against the Friars surpassing a 13-board performance on opening night against Bucknell. Two additional Lady Lions finished the night with double digits in the scoring column, with redshirt sophomore guard Moriah Murray logging 14 points and senior guard Jayla Oden finishing with 13 to round out the trio of Penn Staters in double digits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Friars collected the opening tipoff and drilled a left-wing triple to open Wednesday night’s scoring, but Murray snapped back with 3-pointers of her own on back-to-back possessions to give the Lady Lions a 6-3 lead. Providence saw a guard utilize an acrobatic finish to find the bottom of the net to cut the lead back to one and hit another layup to see the lead change hands. Merkle converted an and-one opportunity, and the Friars nailed another layup to tie things back up at 9-all, but Merkle’s torrid stretch in the paint wore on with consecutive layups to force a 13-9 PSU lead at the media intermission. Following the short break, Providence used a steal and score to add to their total, but consecutive baskets from Johnson and Campbell made it a 17-11 Penn State advantage to force a Friar timeout with 2:01 to play in the frame. Providence replied over the final two minutes of the quarter with a 4-0 scoring run, culminating in a 17-15 advantage for the Lady Lions through one period of action.
Second Quarter
The first two minutes of the period passed largely without incident, but Merkle found the bottom of the net with a layup on a slick feed from Oden at the 7:27 mark of the period to give Penn State a 19-15 advantage. The Friars replied moments later with a fastbreak opportunity on the other end, but both teams buckled down on the defensive side of things to keep things close over the next few minutes. Merkle engaged in a personal 4-0 scoring run, but the Friars hit a left-wing triple just before the media timeout to make it a 23-20 affair with the Lady Lions managing the 3-point advantage. The Friars cut the Penn State lead to one with another steal-and-score opportunity, but dominance on both ends of the floor from Merkle culminated in another personal 4-0 scoring stretch to balloon PSU’s lead back to five points. Despite Merkle amassing a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double before the halftime break, Providence was able to notch the final score of the half and make it a 27-24 game with 20 minutes to go.
Third Quarter
Hall opened the scoring in the second half with a free throw line jumper just over a minute into the third quarter, and Oden came alive from long range with consecutive trips down the floor ending in left-wing 3-point tallies. With the Friars facing a cavalcade of offensive efficiency from the Blue & White, Providence took a timeout with 7:42 to play in the period, trailing Penn State 35-24. Oden continued to light things up out of the Friar timeout, capitalizing on an and-one opportunity to punctuate a personal 9-0 scoring run. Providence found its rhythm once again on the offensive end with a right-elbow jumper, and the teams would exchange buckets on either side of the media timeout to result in a 42-28 PSU lead with just over three minutes to go in the third. Providence engaged in an 8-3 run over the next few minutes to cut the PSU lead back to double figures, but a driving layup from Oden with time winding down gave the Lady Lions a 47-36 lead heading into the final quarter of competition.
Fourth Quarter
Providence found the bottom of the net to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, but back-to-back layups from Merkle and Oden helped the Lady Lions grow their lead to 51-38. After an electric opening minute to the period on the offensive end of the floor, both squads settled in and made things more challenging as the quarter wore on. The Friars hit a 3-point jumper to edge closer to the Blue & White, but scores from Campbell and Merkle in the paint gave PSU a 55-41 lead with 5:24 to play in the midweek matchup. Merkle’s dominant night on both ends of the floor carried on as the game continued to wind down, with the PSU post connecting on another and-one to make it a 58-41 contest. Both squads exchanged chances as the final period continued to wind down, but baskets from Hall and Campbell followed by a 3-point dagger from Murray closed out the successful 68-51 road trip to New England.
POSTGAME NOTES
Penn State at Providence
December 11, 2024
Alumni Hall (Providence, R.I.)
- The Lady Lions earned their ninth win of the season. They move to 9-2 overall and 0-1 Big Ten this season.
- Penn State outrebounded Providence by a 44-29 clip.
- A trio of Lady Lions reached the double figure scoring mark: Merkle (24), Murray (14) and Oden (13)
- Merkle produced her sixth double-double of the season and 25th of her career with 24 points and 18 rebounds. She notched a season high 18 board consisting of seven on the offensive side and 11 on the defensive end. The 6’6 center shot 10-of-15 from the field and four-of-four from the free throw line. Merkle also posted three assists in her seventh 20-plus-point outing of the season.
- Murray picked up where she left off in late November, scoring 14 points using three shots from beyond the arc. She also continued her perfect shooting from the charity stripe, sinking her lone shot from the free throw line on the evening. Murray also grabbed four rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
- Oden was the final Lady Lion in the trio of double figure scorers, posting 13 points. This is her third consecutive game reaching the double-digit mark.
- Penn State’s largest lead was a 21-point margin with just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
- The Lady Lions took advantage of second chance opportunities, sinking 13 points to the Friars’ two in the second chance point category.
- Penn State outscored Providence 36-24 in the paint.
- The Lady Lions held Providence to 36.4% shooting from the field while notching a 43.8% mark themselves.
FOLLOW THE LADY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women’s basketball. Fans can keep up to date with the Lady Lion women’s basketball team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @PennStateWBB.