STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Penn State women’s basketball team saw a quintet of student-athletes crack double figures as the Nittany Lions roared to an 82-77 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats Friday night inside Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 and prevailed in their inaugural meeting with the Bearcats, who dropped to 0-2. Penn State climbed to 2-0 for the sixth consecutive season, accomplishing that feat every year under coach Carolyn Kieger.
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Penn State impressed in its second contest of the season, logging five student-athletes in double figures in the scoring column for the first time since Nov. 10, 2024, against Duquesne inside Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions finished the night shooting 49.3% from the field and an astounding 47.4% clip from beyond the arc, holding Cincinnati to meager 37.5% and 33.3% marks in those statistics, respectively. Penn State dominated the battle for fast-break points, outpacing the Bearcats by a 17-6 margin in transition scoring. Penn State also logged a 42-26 win in paint scoring, and did a spectacular job of creating scoring chances off Cincinnati miscues, logging a 28-17 win in terms of points off turnovers.
Sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller finished the night with a game-high 20 points in addition to seven assists, five rebounds and five steals. The Maryland native cracked double figures for the 20th time in her collegiate career and hit 20-plus points for the 12th time as a collegian and second time as a Nittany Lion. Redshirt junior center Gracie Merkle mustered her first double-double of the season as well as the 33rd of her collegiate career, logging 14 points on 70% shooting from the floor in addition to hauling in a game-high 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior guard Moriah Murray booked 18 points, highlighted by a 5-for-10 effort from long range, freshman guard Téa Cléante dropped 14 points in her debut and freshman guard Viktoria Ranisavljevic rounded out the quintet of Penn Staters in double figures with 10 points on 50% shooting.
