Lady Lions Take on No. 20/17 MarylandLady Lions Take on No. 20/17 Maryland

Lady Lions Take on No. 20/17 Maryland

Penn State women’s basketball travels to College Park, Md.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State women’s basketball heads to the XFINITY Center to take on no. 20/17 Maryland on Thursday, Feb. 12 for its eighth nationally ranked matchup of the campaign. The Lady Lions (8-16, 1-12 Big Ten) look for their second conference win while the Terrapins (19-6, 7-6 Big Ten) look to win three-straight. Tip off in College Park is slated for 7 p.m. with coverage on Peacock.

GAME INFORMATION

at 20/17 Maryland

LAST TIME OUT

  • Penn State came up short against no. 12/13 Michigan State at Rec Hall last Saturday. PSU held a 45-33 lead at the halftime break, but Michigan State outscored the Lady Lions 21-7 to recapture the lead in the third quarter. Penn State continued to battle, but Michigan State came out on top with an 81-70 win.
  • Kiyomi McMiller notched a new career high 37 points with a new personal best 16 made field goals. She also recorded eight rebounds, three assists and one steal.
  • Freshman guard Tèa Clèante put forth her third-straight double figure scoring performance of the year with 10 points in addition to two assists and two steals.
  • The Lady Lions produced their best first quarter scoring performance of the year and largest first quarter lead of the campaign.
  • The game saw six lead changes throughout the night.

SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS

  • Maryland is 19-6, 7-6 Big Ten this season. The Terrapins own ranked wins over no. 16 Kentucky at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic in November and no. 12 Michigan State on Feb. 4.
  • Maryland is on a two-game win streak with wins against no. 12 Michigan State and Nebraska most recently.
  • The Terrapins began the season ranked no. 10 and have dropped slightly to no. 20 in the Associated Press Poll.
  • Oluchi Okananwa leads the Terrapins on offense, averaging 17.2 points per game. Kaylene Smikle (13.1), Yarden Garzon (13.0), Addi Mack (10.6) and Saylor Poffenbarger (10.3) also average double figure scoring.
  • Garzon was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Top 10 list announced on Feb. 4. She was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Dec. 22 after posting 25 points, seven rebounds, two assists and seven three-pointers made against Central Connecticut State.
  • Mack was named the USBWA Freshman of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals while shooting 56.5% from the floor in Maryland’s wins over Towson and Princeton.
  • Garzon leads the Big Ten in three-pointers per game (2.76) and three pointers (69).
  • As a team, the Terps are ninth in the nation in rebound margin (10.6), 13th in free throws made per game (16.2), 14th in scoring margin (21.5), 15th in scoring offense (83.1), 17th in rebounds per game (42.4) and 18th in offensive rebounds per game (15.7).
  • Last season, Maryland finished 25-8, 13-5. After losing in their first game at the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan, the Terps advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. UMD defeated Norfolk State and Alabama on its home court in the first and second rounds and lost to South Carolina at the Birmingham Regional to finish the season.

PENN STATE – MARYLAND SERIES

  • Maryland leads the all-time series 22-16.
  • Maryland owns the series in recent years with a 9-1 record in the past 10 matchups.
  • There have been no overtime games in the series history.
  • The Terps have won the most recent two meetings in 2024 and 2025.
  • Prior to that, Penn State defeated Maryland 112-76 on Jan. 28, 2024, marking its first win over the Terrapins since 2003. In the contest, PSU set a new program record for made three-pointers with 16.
  • The Lady Lions are 6-12 in games played in College Park.

LADY LIONS IN THE RANKS

  • Merkle ranks first in the nation in field goal percentage (74.6) and 10th in field goals (176). She is also sixth in the conference points per game (19.3).
  • McMiller ranks 10th in the nation in field goals (190) and fourth in field goal attempts (471), ranking fourth and first across the B1G consecutively in those categories. She sits fourth in the conference in points per game (20.2).
  • Murray is third in the Big Ten in three pointers per game (2.71) and third in three pointers (65).