UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women’s basketball will face Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday, Dec. 15. Tip off in Lawrence, Kan. is set for 3 p.m. ET and will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Both teams are in search of their tenth win of the season.
GAME INFORMATION
vs Kansas
- Date: Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Lawrence, Kan. | Venue: Allen Fieldhouse
- Live Stats | Watch: ESPNU | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State bounced back from a two-game slide with their first true road win at Providence. The final score was 68-51.
- After a handful of tie scores and a lead change in the first quarter with Providence scoring the first points of the game, the Lady Lions built a lead through the remainder of the game that they did not concede.
- Three Penn State players reached the double-digit scoring mark with Gracie Merkle leading the charge with 24 points. Moriah Murray nailed 14 points and Jayla Oden put up 13.
- Merkle earned her sixth double-double of the season using a season best 18 rebounds consisting of seven offensive and 11 defensive boards. She produced 10-of-15 shooting from the field and four-of -four shooting from the free throw line to go with three assists. This was Merkle’s seventh 20-plus-point outing of the year as she remains the only Lady Lion to reach the double figure mark in all 11 games this season.
- Murray’s 14 points stemmed from three electric shots from beyond the arc. She also contributed four rebounds, three steals and one assist.
- Oden posted her third consecutive double figure scoring performance with 13 points.
- The Lady Lions outscored the Friars 36-24 in the paint and won the rebound battle by a 44-29 margin.
- Penn State capitalized on second chance opportunities, scoring 13 points to Providence’s two.
LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- Moriah Murray sits 17th in the Big Ten in points per game (114.9) and 10th in total points (164). She sits first in the country in three pointers (40) and third in three pointers per game per game (3.64).
- Merkle ranks 11th in the country in total points (222) and second in the conference. She also sits second in the conference in points per game (22.2). Merkle is fourth in the nation in field goals made (91) and sixth in field goal percentage (66.4). Her six double-doubles ranks her eighth in the country and second in the B1G.
- Alli Campbell is ranked third in the conference in assists (53).
- Penn State is fourth in the nation in total assists (214) and sits 10th in assists per game (19.5). The team is first in the conference in total assists and ranks third in assists per game.
- The team ranks 15th in the country in shooting percentage from the field (49.2) and third in the Big Ten.
- The Lady Lions also have the 29th-best scoring offense across the country, averaging 81.3 points per contest.
SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS
- Kansas is 9-1 to start the season, its only loss coming at the hands of Iowa in mid-November.
- The Jayhawks competed at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam over Thanksgiving and came out with three wins over Pitt, Northern Iowa and Auburn.
- Kansas is undefeated at home this season. The Jayhawks are 19-1 at home dating back to last season with 14 consecutive wins on their home court.
- Kansas sits second in the Big 12 right now after finishing seventh in the conference last season.
- Three Jayhawks average double figure scoring: S’Mya Nichols (20.6), Elle Evans (13.4) and Brittany Harshaw (10.3).
- Nichols ranks third in the conference in scoring and 15th in the country. She is also the nation’s leader in free throw attempts, having 107 opportunities at the line so far.
- In 2023-24, Kansas finished 20-13 overall, 11-7 in conference. After losing in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship to Texas, the Jayhawks made a run in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Michigan in overtime in the first round and losing to USC in the second round. The season prior, Kansas won the WNIT.
PENN STATE – KANSAS SERIES
- The Lady Lions and the Jayhawks have only met five times in each program’s history, with the first game dating back to 1979.
- Until the contest in Happy Valley last season, the two teams had not met since 1997.
- Penn State owns the series by a 3-2 clip.
- The Lady Lions have never played at Kansas with four of the five games being played in State College and the fifth game taking place at a neutral location in Kansas City, Mo.
- Penn State’s largest margin of victory was a 17-point win in 1994 and its largest margin of defeat was an 11-point loss in the first game of the series in 1979.
- The teams have faced once in the NCAA Tournament in 1994. The Lady Lions hosted the Jayhawks in the second round inside Rec Hall. No. 4 PSU walked away with the victory over the no. 15 Jayhawks to advance to the Midwest Regional in Austin, Texas.