UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women’s basketball is set for its 2024-25 Big Ten opener as it hosts Indiana on Saturday, Dec. 7. This will be the Lady Lions first home game as their Big Ten opening contest since 2020-21. Penn State and Indiana will square off inside the Bryce Jordan Center at a 1 p.m. tip time this weekend.
GAME INFORMATION
vs Indiana
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Bryce Jordan Center
- Live Stats | Watch: B1G+ | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- The Lady Lions dropped their first game of the 2024-25 season to St. John’s by a 72-67 margin.
- Prior to the loss, Penn State had won 18-straight non-conference home games and was 8-0 to start the season for the first time since 1993-94.
- Jayla Oden posted a career best 24 points on eight-of-13 shooting from the field. Oden continued her dominance in drawing fouls, totaling eight fouls drawn. Her shooting from the charity stripe was also effective, shooting at a seven-of-eight clip from the line.
- Gracie Merkle surpassed the 10-point scoring mark for the ninth time this season, remaining the only Lady Lion to score in double figures in all games this campaign thus far.
- Gabby Elliot put up 12 points and seven rebounds, marking her second-straight game in double figures and fourth of the season.
- Penn State outrebounded St. John’s 33-25. The Lady Lions have outrebounded their opponents in all nine games this season.
LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS
- Moriah Murray sits 13th in the Big Ten in points per game (16.2) and ninth in total points (146). She sits first in the country in three pointers (37) and third in three pointers per game per game (4.11).
- Merkle ranks 17th in the country in total points (182) and second in the conference. She also sits second in the conference in points per game (20.2). Merkle is sixth in the nation in field goals made (75) and sixth in field goal percentage (65.8). Her five double-doubles ranks her ninth in the country and second in the B1G. She also ranks seventh in offensive rebounds per game across the nation (4.7)
- Alli Campbell is ranked fourth in the conference in assists (44).
- Penn State is fourth in the nation in total assists (175) and sits seventh in assists per game (20.8). The team is first in the conference in total assists and ranks third in assists per game.
- The team ranks ninth in the country in shooting percentage from the field (50.1) and third in the Big Ten.
- The Lady Lions also have the 15th-best scoring offense across the country, averaging 85.1 points per contest.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
- Indiana holds a 6-3 record to begin the 2024-25 campaign. After winning their season opener against Brown, the Hoosiers suffered a home court overtime loss to Harvard in the following game. Indiana then dropped another game to Butler on the road before returning home and defeating no. 24/23 Stanford. The Hoosiers played at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament where they walked away winning two of the three games against Columbia and no. 18/17 Baylor. They were defeated by no. 16/15 North Carolina in the final game of the competition. Most recently, Indiana returned home and capture wins against Maine and Southern Indiana.
- Indiana was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll after finishing third in the conference last season.
- Junior guard Yarden Garzon was one of 20 athletes selected to the watchlist for the 2025 Cheryl Miller Award. This is her second consecutive season on the preseason list after being a Top-10 Finalist last year.
- Garzon leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game. Shay Ciezki, Lily Meister and Chloe Moore-McNeil also average double figure points.
- Ciezki played two seasons in Happy Valley before transferring to Indiana.
- Last season, the Hoosiers advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years after defeating Fairfield and Oklahoma in the first and second rounds. They lost to eventual National Champions South Carolina in the round of 16.
- Indiana suffered a loss to Michigan in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament after receiving a first-round-bye.
PENN STATE – INDIANA SERIES
- Saturday’s contest will be the 54th meeting between Penn State and Indiana, dating back to 1982.
- The Lady Lions lead the all-time series 33-20.
- The Hoosiers have won the most recent seven games.
- There has been one overtime game, a 77-71 PSU win on Jan. 10, 2010 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Indiana won the most recent game, played in Assembly Hall on Jan. 10. The Hoosiers were ranked 14/13 in the polls at the time. Despite the Lady Lions holding the lead at halftime, Indiana came out with a 75-67 victory.