IOWA CITY, Iowa. – Penn State women’s basketball falls to no. 14 Iowa, 99-76, inside Carver Hawkeye Arena on Sunday evening. The Lady Lions descend to 7-6, 0-2 Big Ten while the Hawkeyes improve to 11-2, 2-0 Big Ten. The trio of double figure Penn State scorers was not enough to convert a victory with the Hawkeyes doubling their number with six double-digit scorers.
Freshman Tèa Clèante led the Lady Lions, recording her third consecutive double figure scoring outing with 21 points to go with three assists and two steals. Sophomore Kiyomi McMiller produced 20 points and four assists in her outing. Merkle also reached the double-digit points mark for the third-straight game, posting 18 points on eight-of-10 shooting from the floor. She also grabbed 11 rebounds to secure her fifth double-double of the campaign and second in the previous three contests. Senior Maggie Mendelson tied McMiller and Shayla Smith for the team lead with four assists in addition to two blocks, one steal and one board. Defensively, freshman Smith was effective as she totaled five rebounds, four assists and two steals to go with four points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
Despite winning the opening tipoff the Hawkeyes lost the ball on their first possession allowing PSU to put up the first points on the other end out of the hands of Merkle. Iowa responded with a basket of its own but a three-point bomb from Clèante put the Lady Lions ahead. The home team strung five points together to take a 7-5 lead, but Clèante had the answer with her second shot from long range to capture the advantage. A 14-0 run for the Hawkeyes built a 13-point margin at the media timeout. Iowa picked up where it left off after the stoppage, adding two more points to its total. McMiller broke the scoring drought for the Lady Lions with a mid-range jumper to cut the score to 23-10. An offensive board in addition to a foul, allowed the Hawkeyes to drain to shots from the charity stripe, but McMiller had another long two-point shot to keep the margin at 13. The teams traded baskets to close out the first stanza with Iowa in the lead by a 29-14 margin.
Second Quarter
Iowa resumed its offensive success while the Lady Lions struggled as the Hawkeyes increased their edge with six unanswered points. Penn State gained momentum using three-pointers from Murray and Clèante along with Merkle’s set of points off a turnover. Iowa’s next series of scores came from the free throw line to extend to a 38-22 edge. Clèante sparked a surge for the Lady Lions, driving to the basket as she surpassed the double-digit mark. Her efforts were followed by Smith with a turnaround jumper to decrease the deficit to 12. The Hawkeyes had a response with nine points, that were only broken up by a Merkle hook shot. The Lady Lions compiled seven-straight points to slash the margin to 12, Merkle led the charge with a three-point play. Iowa added two points, but Clèante’s free throws were the final points of the second stanza, creating a 49-37 advantage for the Hawkeyes after two quarters.
Third Quarter
Iowa got on the board first, but Merkle had the response with a layup after forcing a jumpball on the defensive end. The Hawkeyes used second-chance points to add to their advantage, but a three-pointer from McMiller decreased the margin to 11. The squads exchanged baskets until the home team added four in consecutive fashion. Viktoria Ranisavljevic dropped a shot from way beyond the arc to threaten. Both teams took trips to the charity stripe where each would only produce one-of-two free throws. A three-pointer got the Hawkeyes going, allowing them to compile five consecutive points. Clèante had the answer with a driving layup to the rim. Six-straight Iowa points forced PSU to utilize a timeout at the 1:13 mark in the third stanza. The Hawkeyes built a 21-point edge after 30 minutes of game action following points from each squad out of the break.
Fourth Quarter
Iowa enhanced its lead by as many as 25 before PSU could add points to the board in the fourth quarter. The Lady Lions used a steal from Smith on defense to convert two points from Clèante on the offensive end. Two free throws for the Hawkeyes were followed up by a jumper from McMiller. After another Iowa basket, McMiller drained a shot from long range to cut the lead to 22. Clèante turned defense into offense to bring the score to 81-61in favor of Iowa. Merkle continued the run for the Lady Lions with two points off a turnover and McMiller added another two to cap off the 9-0 stretch. Iowa responded with a run of its own, adding four consecutive points. The teams traded layups to maintain a 20-point margin until the Lady Lions put up back-to-back points to cut the deficit to 16 points. Iowa utilized seven-straight scores to balloon its lead to 24 points before Murray could add a shot from three-point range. The Hawkeyes finished the contest with two points to finalize a 99-76 victory.
POSTGAME NOTES
Penn State at Iowa
December 28, 2025
Carver Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
- The Hawkeyes improve to 31-29 in the all-time series history between the two squads.
- Three Lady Lions reached the double figure scoring marking including Clèante and Merkle who did this for the third-straight contest.
- Merkle moves to fifth all-time in career double-doubles at Penn State with 37.
- The Lady Lions outshot the Hawkeyes from the floor, posting a 50.8 mark.
- Penn State outscored Iowa 23-20 in the second quarter.
- The Lady Lions recorded 21 assists, marking their seventh game of the season with 20-plus-assists.
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