Women’s Basketball Preps for Battle 4 AtlantisWomen’s Basketball Preps for Battle 4 Atlantis

Women’s Basketball Preps for Battle 4 Atlantis

Author Julia Beretta

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women’s basketball travels to Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. The Lady Lions will take on two NCAA Tournament teams from last season throughout their time in the Bahamas. PSU will first face Princeton on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.

The Lady Lions look to extend their win streak to 5-0 for the 15th time in program history while the Tigers look to move to 4-1.

GAME INFORMATION

vs. Princeton

  • Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
  • Location: Nassau, Bahamas | Venue: Atlantis, Paradise Island
  • Live Stats | Watch: none | Notes | Radio
  • Admission: Ticketed

LAST TIME OUT

  • Penn State earned a gritty 89-77 road win at Saint Joseph’s on Sunday, Nov. 16. The Lady Lions climbed back from an early deficit to earn their first road win of the season.
  • Three-point shooting was a difference maker for PSU with five different Lady Lions hitting a shot from beyond the arc. As a team, they produced 71.6% shooting from three-point range, their best mark since shooting 72.7% against Wisconsin in 2013.
  • Gracie Merkle and Kiyomi McMiller led Penn State, each notching double-doubles. Merkle had a game high 25 points and 11 rebounds. McMiller produced 15 points to go with 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
  • Téa Cléante was efficient shooting from the field at a 9-of-11 clip, specifically from three-point range where she went 5-of-6. She was shooting perfect from both locations until the final quarter.
  • Vitória Santana posted a career best 11 points using 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
  • As a squad, the Lady Lions outscored the Hawks 42-20 in the paint and outrebounded St. Joe’s by a 44-31 margin.
  • With the victory, PSU moved to a 4-0 record for the 20th time in program history.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

  • The Tigers are 3-1 to begin the 2025-26 campaign with wins over Georgia Tech, Villanova and Rice and a loss to Maryland.
  • Princeton bounced back from its loss to no. 9 Maryland with a win over Rice in its most recent outing.
  • Four Tigers average double figure scoring, Madison St. Rose leading the way with 17.2 points per game, followed by Fadima Tall with 16.5, Olivia Hutcherson with 11.2 and Skye Belker with 10.8.
  • Rose was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Preseason Watch List and the Wooden Award Women’s Watch List.
  • Tall garnered a National Player of the Week honor after producing her fourth career double-double against Georgian Tech (16p and 14r). She also earned an Ivy League Player of the Week nod after two double figure scoring performances against Villanova and Maryland including a career high 21 points against the Wildcats.
  • Princeton was ranked no. 1 in the Preseason Ivy League Poll.
  • Last season, Princeton finished with a 21-8 record including an impressive 12-2 mark in Ivy play. The Tigers reached the semifinal of the Ivy League Tournament where they fell short to Harvard. Despite the loss, the Tigers clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they suffered a loss to Iowa State.
  • Rose was named to second team All-Ivy in 2024 and earned Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2023.
  • Head coach Carla Berube has led the squad to an outstanding 121-25 record in her tenure, including four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. She was named to the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Watch List.

 PENN STATE – PRINCETON SERIES

  • Penn State and Princeton have only faced twice in the series history, both meetings occurring consecutively in 2018 and 2019.
  • The Lady Lions won the first contest in overtime fashion and the Tigers came back to secure a victory the following year.

LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS

  • Merkle finished the 2024-25 campaign ranked third in the nation and first in the conference in field goal percentage (.670). Among power 4 players, she ranked first in field goal percentage, 15th in double-doubles (13), 20th in rebounds per game (8.6) and 23rd in blocks per game.
  • Moriah Murray sat 21st in the nation in three pointers per game (2.63) and second in the B1G in 2024-25.
  • As a team, the Lady Lions ranked 14th in the nation in assists per game (17.7) and fifth in the Big Ten last season.
  • After three games to kick off the 2025-26 campaign, Merkle sits 21st in the country in field goal percentage (65.4) and sixth in the B1G.
  • McMiller ranks 18th in the nation in field goals (36) and 21st in field goal attempts (78), ranking fourth and first across the B1G consecutively in those categories. She sits 36th in points per game (20.0) across the country and is third in the conference in steals (14).

NEW FACES

  • Kieger added two transfers to her roster, Kiyomi McMiller and Amiya Evans. Sophomore transfer from Rutgers McMiller, averaged 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in her rookie campaign. Evans, a senior transfer from Georgia, combined for 2.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game career average in her first three collegiate seasons.
  • Senior Penn State volleyball athlete Maggie Mendelson will join the Lady Lions at the conclusion of her volleyball season. Mendelson was a two-sport athlete at her previous stop in Nebraska where she averaged 2.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.
  • Five freshmen round out the 2025-26 roster. Tèa Clèante, Viktoria Ranisavljevic and Rachael Okokoh alll bring a high level of international basketball experience to the Lady Lions. Clèante has played for the French national team for numerous years and Ranisavljevic has played for the Swiss national team since she was 13 and Okokoh has spent a number of seasons with the Canadian national squad. Shayla Smith from Philadelphia arrives in Happy Valley after breaking the all-time scoring record at Universal Audenried Charter, finishing her campaign with 2,666 points. She became the fastest player to reach 1,000 career points, a record previously held by Dawn Staley. Nyla McFadden is the final freshman on the PSU squad, after graduating from St. Thomas Aquinas. She helped her team to back-to-back state championships.

2024-25 IN REVIEW

  • Penn State finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 10-19 overall record and a 1-17 Big Ten conference record.
  • The Lady Lions concluded last year’s campaign with a loss on the road at Rutgers.
  • PSU recorded a win over no. 9 Ohio State on January 18, marking the team’s first win over a top 10 opponent since defeating no. 8 Ohio State in 2012.
  • The Lady Lions set a program record for non-conference home wins, spanning over three seasons of 17-straight wins in the Bryce Jordan Center against out-of-conference opponents. Their win over Drexel last season marked the program record.