UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women’s basketball is set for a Big Ten tilt against no. 14 Iowa on Sunday, Dec. 28. The televised contest will tipoff at 4 p.m. with coverage taking place on the Big Ten Network.
The Lady Lions look to bounce back from their recent loss to Richmond in the second game of the 4 Tha Culture Holiday Classic from the previous weekend. Penn State went 1-1 throughout the tournament with a win over VCU.
GAME INFORMATION
at no. 14 Iowa
- Date: Sunday, December 28 2025 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: Iowa City, Iowa | Venue: Carver Hawkeye Arena
- Live Stats | Watch: Big Ten Network | Notes | Radio
- Admission: Ticketed
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State fell to Richmond, 70-54 in the second game of the 4 Tha Culture Holiday Classic. The Spiders built an early lead that the Lady Lions could not climb back from.
- In the first game of the weekend, the Lady Lions secured a 78-66 win over VCU.
- Redshirt junior Gracie Merkle and freshman Téa Cléante reached the double figure scoring mark in both games of the tournament. Merkle averaged 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games including a double-double (13p, 12r) against VCU. Cléante averaged 13.0 points, 5.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.5 rebounds per contest. She had a career night against VCU with 15 points in addition to personal best marks with eight assists and five steals.
- Maggie Mendelson made her first appearance as a Lady Lion against the Rams and made her first start against the Spiders. Throughout the weekend, she posted 8.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
- The Lady Lions out-rebounded both opponents, extending their streak to 10-straight games in doing so.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
- Iowa is 10-2, 1-0 Big Ten at the end of December. Its only two losses come from top 10 opponents in no. 10 Iowa State and no. 1 UConn.
- The team began the season ranked 21st and climbed as high as a 11th before dropping to 14th in the most recent poll.
- Most recently, the Hawkeyes fell to no. 1 UConn at the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic inside the Barclays Center.
- Hannah Stuelke was named to the first team All-Big Ten squad in addition to earning spots on the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year, Katrina McClain Power Forward and Wooden Award Watch Lists. Addison Deal joins Stuelke on the Wooden Award Watch List.
- Ava Heiden leads the Hawkeyes offensively, averaging 14.6 points per contest. Stuelke follows with 13.4 and Chazadi Wright rounds out the double-digit point scorers with 11.7 points per game.
- Last season, Iowa finished with a 23-11 record, going 10-8 in conference play. The Hawkeyes made a run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Oklahoma 96-62 to finish the campaign.
PENN STATE – IOWA SERIES
- Iowa leads the all-time series 30-29, owning the most recent 11 victories.
- The Lady Lions are 10-17 in games played in Iowa City.
- There have been two overtime games in the history of the series including a triple, overtime contest in 2009 that Iowa came away victorious from.
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 12 games, Merkle ranks first in the nation in field goal percentage (73.5) and eighth in field goals (108). She is also 23rd in the country and third in the conference points per game (19.8).
- McMiller ranks 19th in the nation in field goals (95) and third in field goal attempts (227), ranking fourth and first across the B1G consecutively in those categories.
- Murray is 21st in three pointers per game (3.0) and 23rd in total three-pointers (36), sitting first in the Big Ten in both statistics.