After a tough loss to St. John’s on Monday, Penn State women’s basketball seemed to be getting back on track.

However, things didn’t go as planned as the Lady Lions lost to Indiana 75-60.

Coach Carolyn Kieger knows changes need to be made to rebound from back-to-back losses in tough Big Ten games.

“We have to go back to the drawing board,” Kieger said. “We put a lot of emphasis on sharing the ball this year and we didn’t do that tonight.”

The first quarter began with Moriah Murray working his way to the stripe and making a turnaround shot on the Lady Lions’ first possession.

The Blue and White’s offense was hot as they took an early 10-2 lead, hitting four of their first five shots.

Indiana struggled to break Penn State’s press, but Yarden Garzon found the open space in transition for the Hoosiers and hit their first triple of the game.

Murray drove to the paint over a screen from Gracie Merkle, but was picked off in the pocket by former Penn State guard Shay Ciezki.

The Blue and White’s pressure on the inside from Merkle and Grace Hall forced the Hooisers to attack from the outside, but only two of seven shots from beyond the arc came early for Indiana as the first quarter ended 14-13 at Penn State.

The second quarter began and the Lady Lions immediately went to work with a physical basket from right wing Gabby Elliott. Penn State excelled at forcing shots late in the shot clock, but Karoline Striplin used her 6-foot-1 frame to push past two defenders for a strong finish up front.

Striplin found the net again to give Indiana its first lead of the day at 21-20. Elliott fired back with a mid-range shot that went down, but Striplin headed in with all his might and scored four straight baskets for the Hoosiers.

The Lady Lions had the momentum for most of the first half. However, at the end of the second quarter, Indiana’s ball movement accelerated and it seemed easy to take a 30-24 lead.

Elliott refused to trail at halftime, forcing a turnover, scoring on the fast break and dropping a buzzer-beater jumper to tie the game 30-30.

Penn State’s offense was efficient in the first half but finished with zero three-point shots, which is rare for Coach Kieger’s squad and something she believes is critical to the team’s momentum.

“We need to get Moriah more looks, and that’s on us as a team,” Kieger said. “We have one of the best shooters in the country and we need to do a better job of getting her the ball and getting her off the screens.”

Merkle came out of the locker room hot and started the second half with back-to-back shots. Jayla Oden followed suit, quickly changing her direction to attack the middle and do a pull-up from the middle.

Oden fell heavily, clutching her knee and was carried off the field. Penn State obviously missed the offense it produced with 12 points in the third quarter. Garzon and Striplin took advantage of the opening and scored at will, giving the Hooisers a 43-42 lead.

The Lady Lions’ offense in the second half is night and day compared to the first half. However, the team did not make any 3-point shots for the blue and white, while the shooting percentage as a team was less than 40%.

Striplin ended the third quarter with a buzzer-beater from 15 feet away, extending Indiana’s lead to 49-43. The Hartford, Alabama native scored 21 points on 9-9 shooting over three quarters.

Garzon reminded the Lady Lions that she is still a threat by hitting two three-pointers to give Indiana its first double-digit lead at 55-45.

Oden returned to the game and immediately went to work, hitting a deep two-pointer from the top of the key to try and flip a switch for her team and spoke about her commitment to her team’s success.

“I wanted to get back in, I told my sports coach,” said Oden. “It’s just a process. I’m just biding my time and had to be mentally strong for my team.”

Although all of Penn State’s key players were back in the game, the Hoosiers began to run away with the game late in the fourth period and the score increased to 66-51.

Oden and Elliott stepped up at the end of the quarter to keep Indiana at bay, but the deficit was too big to overcome as Penn State lost its second straight game.

Next:

Penn State faces Providence on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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