NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — In a contest at Rutgers on Sunday, March 2 that was about as close as it could get, the Penn State women’s basketball team could not break through in the second half and ultimately fell to the Scarlet Knights, 75-70.
Playing without starting center and high scorer Gracie Merkle, the Lady Lions began the final quarter down by 6 points, clawed their way to within a basket with two minutes to play but could not string together the scores needed to overtake the Knights.
Heading down the stretch, Rutgers took an 8 point, 64-56 lead with five minutes on the clock after a 3-pointer by JoJo Lacey.
Penn State countered with scores by Gabby Elliott, Alli Campbell, Talayah Walker and Tamera Johnson that put the score at 67-64 with 1:47 to play.
At this point, though, a turnover by the Lions led to a Rutgers layup and then two free throws by Destiny Adams.
Behind now by 71-64 with less than a minute to play, the Lion’s Grace Hall nailed a 3-pointer that gave the team a glimmer of life.
But a turnover, a layup by Lacey and two free throws by Lisa Thompson put the Knights over the top.
Penn State scored the final 3 points of the game with under 10 seconds left on a free throw by Shaelyn Steele and a layup by Talayah Walker, and the game ended with the score 75-70.
Things were close all the way, with 12 lead changes, five ties and neither team being able to build a double-digit lead.
Penn State fell behind early and then rallied in the second quarter to be behind by only 3 at halftime, 34-31.
Yet Rutgers had answers to every Penn State move in the second half, and the Knights were able to hold on for the victory.
Hall led Penn State with 16 points with Elliott scoring 15, Johnson 11 and Walker 10.
Hall had her second consecutive 16-point game, while Elliott was in double figures for the 20th time this season.
And Alli Campbell had 6 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The game ended the regular season for the team with a record of 10-19 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten.
