UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State suffered its sixth-straight loss, 92-76, to rv/rv Illinois in the We Back Pat game at the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday afternoon. The game marked the final scheduled game for the Lady Lions at the BJC in the 2025-26 season.
The Lady Lions fell to 7-10 overall and remain winless at 0-6 in Big Ten play with the loss, while the Fighting Illini improved to 14-3 and 4-2 in Big Ten play with the win, its fourth consecutive in the series and 20th overall against Penn State.
Three Lady Lions finished the game in double figures, including redshirt junior center Gracie Merkle, who delivered another strong showing in the loss. The Mount Washington, Ky. native finished with a team-high 24 points, while adding seven rebounds. This marks Merkle’s sixth game of the season above 20 points and her 16th double figure scoring performance. It is also her seventh straight game finishing in double figures. Sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller added 19 points of her own, her fifth-straight game with 10 or more points, while also tying her career-high with seven assists against a Big Ten opponent. Freshman guard/forward Nyla McFadden built off an impressive game against Michigan with a new career-high 12 points in her first collegiate start.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
A fast-paced first quarter began with Penn State capitalizing on winning the tipoff with a McMiller jumper. After a Lady Lions shot clock violation, the Illini got on the board on their second possession. McMiller drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to give Penn State a 5-2 lead at the 7:58 mark. Berry Wallace countered with a triple for the Illini but Merkle drew a foul on the next Penn State possession, converting both from the charity stripe. Each team missed a three-pointer, but another triple from Wallace gave Illinois its first lead. Merkle added a layup on the next Lady Lions possession but Illinois responded with a floater. An impressive stretch for Penn State began with a Tèa Clèante three-pointer before she stole the ball. McFadden converted the turnover into a layup, giving the Blue and White a 14-10 lead with an and-one opportunity at the 4:45 media timeout. McFadden sank her extra shot but Wallace continued her torrid start with a layup. McMiller missed her next two layups and Illinois’ Destiny Jackson turned the ensuing possessions into Illinois layups, giving the visitors a 16-15 lead with 3:19 remaining in the quarter. McMiller responded with a layup, but a three-pointer by Maddie Webber put Illinois in front. Merkle drew another foul and converted one from the charity stripe, but Illinois added two free shots after a Lady Lion foul. Penn State’s next possession ended with its second shot clock violation. The Lady Lions capitalized on the second of two late Moriah Murray steals with a layup from McMiller, but the Illini held a 21-20 lead through 10 minutes.
Second Quarter
Illinois began the frame with the ball but turned it over on its first possession. A hard-fought offensive rebound by Merkle led to a Murray triple, giving Penn State the lead. Illinois used layups from Wallace and Webber to reclaim the lead, but a Clèante steal knotted the game at 25 with 7:22 remaining in the frame. The Illini missed their next shot and Penn State scored the next four points off layups from Rachael Okokoh and McMiller. A 9-0 Illinois run began with Webber converting another triple. Following a miss by each team, Wallace converted a layup with an and-one chance, with Illinois gaining the 30-29 lead into the 4:28 media timeout. Wallace converted her extra shot out of the timeout and McFadden missed a three-pointer for Penn State, with Illinois making a triple and two foul shots, extending its lead to 35-29 with 2:11 remaining in the half. Clèante drew a foul and made one free throw, capping an over four-minute scoring drought for Penn State. The Illini took advantage of three Lady Lions fouls late in the quarter, converting all six of their attempts from the line. McFadden added a late layup for Penn State, but Jackson responded with an Illinois layup as the visitors took a 43-32 lead into halftime.
Third Quarter
The Lady Lions took the ball, but each team turned it over on its first possessions of the second half. Merkle converted her layup from a Murray assist and made the and-one, cutting the Illinois lead to 43-35. Wallace sank her third three-pointer of the game before a foul on Merkle gave the ball back to the Illini, prompting a video review and media timeout at 8:45 in the third. Following the timeout, McFadden cashed a turnover caused by Okokoh into a layup, making her extra shot after being fouled. After Penn State forced another turnover, Merkle converted two free throws and Illinois missed a three-pointer. McMiller sank the ensuing layup, getting the Lady Lions within four. The Illini responded with a layup, but Penn State missed on the next possession. An Illinois foul put Penn State in the bonus for the third stanza and Merkle converted a layup. Each team missed its next attempt before Webber drained another three-pointer. The teams traded the next four layups, the last one ending with Wallace drawing a foul and Illinois leading 55-48 at the 4:45 media timeout. Wallace didn’t make her foul shot and the Lady Lions came up empty-handed. Webber made a jumper, but Okokoh converted one free throw after being fouled on the next Penn State possession. The Lady Lions used jumpers from McFadden and McMiller to get within four before an Illinois three-pointer extended its lead to seven with 2:02 remaining in the quarter. Each team made one more jumper before the frame ended, with Illinois ending the quarter with a 66-55 edge.
Fourth Quarter
The Illini began the quarter with Webber scoring five straight points, prompting a Penn State timeout with 9:14 remaining in the game. Merkle made a layup for the Lady Lions’ first points of the quarter, but Illinois responded with a 5-0 run to stretch its lead to 76-57. Murray sank a deep three-pointer before the visitors used another 5-0 run, capped with another Webber layup and-one. Clèante responded with a three-pointer before McMiller made a layup, cutting the Illinois lead to 81-65 with 5:10 remaining. Wallace drew a foul and converted both foul shots. After a stretch that included two Illinois turnovers, Murray made another shot from beyond the arc. Each team traded buckets before Webber made a three-pointer and the Illini tacked on another layup, making it 90-70 with 2:27 remaining. Merkle drained two foul shots and after a turnover from each team, an Illinois layup prompted Penn State to take a timeout at 1:43. Merkle made the layup after the possession but missed her free throw before adding another layup. A late Illinois turnover gave Penn State one final opportunity, which ended with a Shayla Smith missed three-pointer and sending the Lady Lions to a 92-76 defeat.
POSTGAME NOTES
Illinois at Penn State
January 11, 2026
Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, Pa.)
- McFadden recorded her third double figure scoring performance of the season while setting a new career high 12 points. This marked her second consecutive outing with 10-plus-points.
- Merkle extended her double figure scoring stretch to seven-straight games with her 16th double-digit outing.
- McMiller also had her seventh consecutive game scoring 10-or-more points and 16th of the campaign.
- The Lady Lions forced 21 turnovers and converted 31 points from those miscues.
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