UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women’s basketball secures its third consecutive win of the season, moving to 3-0 to begin the 2025-26 campaign with a 90-62 win over Coppin State. The Lady Lions used four double figure scorers to ignite the high scoring offense. Penn State’s dominance on the glass also contributed to the victory, outrebounding the Eagles by a 51-25 clip.
Sophomore Kiyomi McMiller led the offense with 21 points and nine rebounds, marking her 13th 20-plus-point outing of her career. Redshirt-junior Gracie Merkle reached the double figure scoring marking for the third game this season with 15 points to go with eight rebounds. Redshirt-junior Moriah Murray shined from three-point range once again, totaling 12 points using four shots from long range. Sophomore Shaelyn Steele was effective on both sides of the court, recording 10 points, six boards, four assists and four steals.
As a team, the Lady Lions combined for 92 points powered by a 33-point third quarter performance. Penn State recorded its largest rebounding total since 2023 with 51 including 20 on the offensive glass. The Lady Lions were most effective in their shooting from the charity stripe, shooting 24-of-28 from the free throw line. Defensively, PSU forced 25 turnovers and recorded 15 steals, marking the third game this season with 13-plus steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The teams traded points to begin the first stanza but a series of forced turnovers by the Penn State defense allowed it to widen the gap to 12-8 following a three-point play from Steele. Coppin State quickly responded with another two points to narrow the score to 10-12 at the media timeout. A 6-0 run for the Lady Lions created an eight-point deficit at the three-minute mark. The Eagles added their first shot from long range of the day to crawl within five but a three-point play for Merkle kept the lead at eight. Two consecutive baskets and a pair of free throws for Coppin State narrowed the margin to 23-17 with PSU only able to add three points in that period to close out the first 10 minutes of play.
Second Quarter
McMiller’s five-straight points to open the second stanza extended Penn State’s advantage to 11 points in the first minute of action. A steal-and-score for Steele made for a 7-0 PSU run and a 30-17 lead for the home team. Neither team added points to the board for over three minutes of game time until the Eagles drained a pair of free throws. The teams traded points out of the media timeout but the Lady Lions were re-energized by a three-point point play for Tèa Clèante following a foul. Coppin State ignited a surge of its own with five-straight points to lessen the gap to nine points. Evans’ long two-point shot was quieted by a fastbreak layup for the Eagles to finish the first half with a 37-28 Penn State advantage.
Third Quarter
An immediate turnover for the Eagles allowed the Lady Lions to build on their lead using a three-point play for McMiller. Both teams exchanged baskets until two consecutive shots from beyond the arc for Penn State out of the hands of Clèante and Murray. Despite a pair of free throws for Coppin State, Murray’s second three pointer of the quarter widened the PSU lead to 52-34. Merkle’s four points were only interrupted by another set of shots from the charity stripe for the Eagles. CSU was able to string together consecutive points following a series of turnovers from the Lady Lions. Back-to-back free throws for PSU widened their advantage to 60-40 with just over three minutes left in the third frame. Viktoria Ranisavljevic sparked a personal 4-0 stretch to put Penn State up by 24 points, but the Eagles utilized free throws to add points to their tally. Penn State added six-straight points to close out the third stanza to result in a 70-42 score.
Fourth Quarter
After a free throw for Coppin State to begin the final quarter, Penn State added nine points while the Eagles could only get two across to widen the margin to 34 points. Coppin State managed five more points but Murray had the answer for the Lady Lions, sinking her fourth three pointer of the afternoon. The Eagles tallied five consecutive points to shave the deficit down to 27. After trading points with Coppin State, Penn State pulled away to a 90-62 final score.
POSTGAME NOTES
Coppin State at Penn State
November 12, 2025
Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.)
- Penn State improved to 3-0 on the season for the 28th time in program history.
- McMiller recorded her third double-digit scoring outing of the season and 21st of her career. She led the team in scoring and assists for the third-straight game.
- Steele had a career day in points, rebounds and assists.
- Murray tallied four-plus three-pointers for the 12th time in her career.
- Merkle recorded her 48th career double-digit scoring performance.
- The Lady Lions tallied 33 points in the third quarter marking their largest quarter total in a game since Nov. 27,2024 against Drexel.
- Penn State combined for 80-plus points for the third time this season.
- The Lady Lions grabbed 51 rebounds, its largest team total since having 54 against Saint Francis on Dec. 17, 2023.
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