UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women’s basketball is set to host Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 7 in the first meeting between the teams in program history. The Lady Lions and the Bearcats will square off inside Rec Hall beginning at 6 p.m. with the contest being streamed on B1G+. Penn State will look for its second win of the 2025-26 campain after defeating Bucknell in its season opener earlier this week, while Cincinnati is in search of its first win following a loss to Lehigh on Tuesday.
GAME INFORMATION
vs. Cincinnati
- Date: Friday, November 7, 2025 | Time: 6 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Rec Hall
- Live Stats | Watch: B1G+ | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State defeated Bucknell in its season opener 83-55 to remain undefeated against the Bison and improve to a 51-13 record in season openers.
- Kiyomi McMiller and Gracie Merkle guided the Lady Lions, each contributing 24-point performances. McMiller was effective in all aspects of her first Lady Lion outing, combining for seven assists, six rebounds and four steals to go with her 19th career double figure scoring performance. Merkle was the most efficient Lady Lion in terms of shooting percentage, racking in 11-of-13 shots from the field.
- As a team, Penn State showed relentless defense, forcing 21 turnovers and converting 27 points off of those miscues. The team also compiled 14 steals, their most since Nov. 21, 2024 against Marshall.
- Offensively, the Lady Lions produced 54 points in the paint to outscore the Bison 54-22 in that category while shooting at a 53.6 mark from the field.
- Every player that touched the court for PSU scored at least two points with four freshmen making their collegiate debuts in Nyla McFadden, Shayla Smith, Viktoria Ranisavljevic and Rachael Okokoh. Both transfers also made their first Lady Lions appearances with McMiller and Amiya Evans contributing meaningful minutes.
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.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
- Cincinnati fell to Lehigh in its season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 88-85. The Bearcats fought back from an early double-digit deficit to create 15 lead changes and five tie scores throughout the contest.
- Mya Perry led the squad in shooting, putting up 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Two other Bearcats posted double figure scoring performances: Reagan Jackson (21) and Caliyah DeVillasee (14).
- Last season, Cincinnati finished with a 15-14 overall record including 7-11 in Big 12 Conference action. The Bearcats finished their season losing to Arizona State in the Big 12 Tournament.
- Jackson is Cincinnati’s lead returning scorer, averaging 9.2 points throughout the 2024-25 campaign.
- The Bearcats have eight newcomers on their roster highlighted by the no. 15 ranked freshman class in the country according to ESPN.
- Dee Alexander was recognized as the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year and finished ranked no. 11 in ESPN’s final rankings before suffering an ankle injury during preseason which will leave her out indefinitely.
PENN STATE – CINCINNATI SERIES
- Penn State and Cincinnati have never faced one another in each program’s history.
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.
- After one game to kick off the 2025-26 campaign, Merkle sits 30th in field goal percentage (84.6) in the country.
- Merkle and McMiller each produced 11 made field goals in their first performances which ranks ninth in the nation and first in the Big Ten in week one of the season.
- Moriah Murray sat 21st in the nation in three pointers per game (2.63) and second in the B1G.
- As a team, the Lady Lions ranked 14th in the nation in assists per game (17.7) and fifth in the Big Ten.
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.