UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State women’s basketball soars to an 83-55 season opening victory over Bucknell. The Lady Lions improve to 51-13 in first games of the campaign while remaining undefeated against the Bison in the all-time series history. Penn State made its first season opening debut in its former home on Curtin Road since 1995 in its partial return to Rec Hall for the 2025-26 campaign.
Sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller and redshirt junior center Gracie Merkle’s 20-plus-point performances, along with efficient team defense powered PSU to its first win of the season. McMiller combined for 27 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals in her Lady Lion debut while Merkle added 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field. Four freshmen made their collegiate debuts with Viktoria Ranisavljevic leading the way eight points, six boards, three assists and two steals. Shayla Smith recorded six points and three rebounds. Rachael Okokoh contributed five points and two boards and Nyla McFadden was the fourth freshman to make their collegiate appearance. Senior forward Amiya Evans also played her first game in a Blue & White jersey, adding six points and seven rebounds.
As a team, the Lady Lions controlled their defensive of the court, forcing 21 turnovers and converting 27 points from those miscues. Penn State posted 14 steals, it's most as a team since Nov. 21, 2024 against Marshall. The Lady Lions were also effective on the other side of the court, notching a 53.6 field goal percentage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Merkle kicked off the 2025-26 season scoring the first basket for the Lady Lions after winning the opening tipoff. The Bison responded with their first points of the contest, followed by a stop on defense. McMiller’s defensive efforts allowed the Lady Lions to head back to their offensive half of the court, where she would complete the play herself with a mid-range jumper. Penn State strung together four more points using a basket from Merkle and two free throws from McMiller. Bucknell added two points before McFadden sunk her first three pointer of her collegiate career. The Bison responded with five consecutive points to pull within two points at 11-9, but Evans widened the gap with a layup on the next offensive try for PSU. Bucknell drained a shot from long range to threaten the lead, inching within one point, but Merkle’s height allowed her to put back a shot at the rim and add two points for the home team. The Bison took their first lead of the day after back-to-back three-point shots. Bucknell managed to extend its lead to 20-17 after a stop on the defensive end, while adding two more points to its tally. Penn State knotted the score at 20-20 after two-straight baskets for the Lady Lions. McMiller’s hard drive to the hoop pushed PSU back to the lead at 23-21. Both squads were plagued by a series of turnovers which caused a scoring draught to finish off the first quarter at a score of 23-21.
Second Quarter
Neither team was successful in their first offensive possessions of the second frame until the Bison broke the streak with a pair of points to tie the score. Merkle created an edge for the Lady Lions with a three-point play caused by a foul. Ranisavljevic widened the deficit to six points using a shot from long range. Another set of points for Merkle ballooned the PSU advantage to eight points at a 31-23 scoreline enroute to an 11-0 run for the Blue & White. The Bison managed to end their four-minute scoring drought and inch within seven points after back-to-back baskets. Penn State answered with consecutive makes of its own out of the hands of Evans and Merkle. Bucknell had the last points of the quarter, despite Murray firing off a shot from long range at the buzzer that was overruled as a basket after video review, making the score 40-31 at the break.
Third Quarter
Bucknell made use of its opening possession of the half, adding another two points to the board. Penn State used four-straight points to extend its advantage to 11 points, but the Bison netted four points of their own to pull back within five. A three-point play for Merkle allowed PSU to grab a 47-39 lead and a supplemental basket from McMiller gave PSU a double-digit edge. Bucknell snuck in a set of points but the Lady Lions strung together another pair of points to create a 14-point margin. A blocked three-point shot attempt gave the Bison their first fast break points of the game. Smith’s tenacious defense allowed McMiller to add points on the fast break for Penn State in response to extend to a 56-42 lead. Bucknell added a pair of free throws but Merkle had the answer with two points of her own to widen the gap to 16, the largest of the quarter. The Bison put across two points using shots from the charity stripe but Smith added the final two tallies of the third stanza to give the Lady Lions a 62-46 advantage.
Fourth Quarter
McMiller added eight points to begin the final frame which were only broken up by one free throw for the Bison. Bucknell compiled two shots from three-point range to cut the PSU edge to 18 points, but back-to-back points from the freshman duo of Okokoh and Smith bolstered the Lady Lions to a 22-point lead with just under three minutes to play. Penn State’s 12-2 run to finish the game propelled Penn State to a 83-55 victory.
POSTGAME NOTES
Bucknell at Penn State
November 3, 2025
Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.)
- Penn State made its season opening debut in Rec Hall for the first time since 1995. The team is now 9-0 in season-opening games played in Rec Hall.
- Merkle recorded her 46th double-digit performance of her career and 22nd 20-plus point outing of her career.
- McMIiler reached double figures for the 19th time in her career and surpassed 20 points for the 11th
- Penn State forced 21 turnovers and compiled 27 points off of those miscues. The team also tallied 14 steals.
- The Lady Lions posted a 53.6% shooting percentage from the field marking their best scoring percentage since Feb. 5, 2025 against Washington.
- Penn State outscored Bucknell 54-22 in the paint.
- The Lady Lions remain undefeated against the Bison and improve to 51-13 in season openers.
- There were four tie scores and two lead changes throughout the contest.
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