NASSAU, Bahamas– Penn State women’s basketball suffered its first loss of the season to Princeton in the first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. Princeton secured a 100-93 victory despite three double figure scorers for the Lady Lions. Redshirt-junior center Gracie Merkle guided the team with a career best 39 points while surpassing the 1,000 career point mark.
Merkle posted 39 points on 19-of-23 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds. She was joined in double-digit scoring by sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller with 19 points in addition to eight assists, four rebounds and three steals. Redshirt-junior guard Moriah Murray combined for 20 points, 18 of which came from beyond the arc on six-of-nine shooting from the three-point line.
The Lady Lions outscored the Tigers 54-38 in the paint while shooting 58.5% from the field. Penn State outrebounded its opponent by a 33-27 clip.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
The Tigers put the first set of points on the board following the opening tipoff, but a 9-2 run for the Lady Lions led by Merkle gave PSU a 9-4 advantage at the 7:40 mark in the first stanza. Princeton added two points to threaten, but Penn State strung together five consecutive points using three free throws from Viktoria Ranisavljevic and a basket from McMiller to extend its advantage to 14-6. The Tigers put up two points, but Murray had the answer with a shot from long range. A combination of McMiller’s pullup jumper and Murray’s second three-pointer of the quarter ballooned the Lady Lions’ advantage to double-digits at 22-10. The Tigers managed to put up back-to-back baskets for the first time to crawl within eight, but Merkle had the final word of the quarter to give the Lady Lions a 24-14 edge after 10 minutes of game action.
Second Quarter
Princeton narrowed its deficit to three after firing off seven-straight points over the first two minutes of the second frame. Murray broke the PSU silence with a shot from beyond the arc on the fast break following a defensive stop. The Tigers added another three points as a response before a scoring draught for both squads. Tèa Clèante was the first to add points following the break in scoring, driving to the rim for a layup and widening the gap to 31-25. Princeton squeezed in one shot from the charity stripe before Penn State turned defense into offense while putting up five points. Merkle used a Princeton turnover to find the basket off a pass from McMiller and Murray drained her fourth three-pointer of the afternoon to give PSU a 34-25 advantage. Princeton dominated the remaining three minutes, adding nine points to Penn State’s four to decrease the margin to 38-34 at the halftime break.
Third Quarter
The teams traded baskets to begin the third quarter, keeping the margin close at 43-30. A free throw for the Tigers drew the deficit to two on two occasions but a shot from beyond the arc out of the hands of Murray grew the Lady Lions’ lead to five. Three-pointers allowed Princeton to narrow the margin to just one point, but a 7-0 run for PSU extended the score to 57-49 at the 4:18 mark. Back-to-back shots from long range for the Tigers quickly shrunk the Penn State advantage to two. Despite Merke’s 1000th career point, Princeton battled to tie the score at 63-63 and eventually take a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter with a 65-63 score.
Fourth Quarter
The Tigers widened their lead to 69-63 to begin the final stanza. The Lady Lions added a basket from Merkle but a three-point play for Princeton extended the margin to seven points. Penn State inched closer with back-to-back makes from Merkle and McMiller but the Tigers were able to maintain their edge using a three-point play and a forced turnover. The miscue allowed Princeton to take a 79-71 lead. Despite several threatening opportunities for the Lady Lions, the Tigers continued to respond, building their lead to 100-93 to close to game.
POSTGAME NOTES
Penn State vs. Princeton
November 22, 2025
Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas)
- Merkle secured a new personal best 39 points and 19 field goals made, both of which are Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament records. Her 39 points is tied for fifth-most scored by a Lady Lion in a single-game in program history.
- This is Murray’s second outing this season and seventh of her career posting six-plus three-pointers.
- McMiller recorded her fourth 20-plus-point outing of the season and 14th of her career.
- The Lady Lions move to 1-2 all-time against the Tigers.
- Penn State outscored its opponent in the paint for the fifth time this season.
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