PHILADELPHIA — Penn State women’s basketball had its first road test of the season against Saint Joe’s, and although the Lady Lions walked away with the 89-77 win, it was far from smooth sailing.
The crowd inside Michael J. Hagan Arena was raucous, and it was clear that, along with the Hawks’ offensive pressure, Carolyn Kieger’s squad was challenged in managing it at times. But the team found answers, responded to runs and made the plays when they mattered most, which makes this a well-rounded win for Penn State.
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“It feels good to get a road win in an environment where we had to weather the storm a little bit.” Kieger said after the game. “We had to work through some errors in the fourth quarter. We’ll have some good film to watch, but super proud of the team and our resiliency in coming out with a win that I think’s gonna be a really good win down the stretch.”
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One of the areas Penn State was challenged most was on defense, both internally and externally. Externally, Saint Joe’s scored in waves. The Hawks would go several possessions without scoring, but would follow that with a flurry of 3-pointers to erase a deficit in 30 seconds.
Interally, Kieger and assistant coach Jason Crafton spent a lot of the game animated on the sidelines trying to get players to correct positions, especially on out-of-bounds sets. There were also defensive breakdowns that either left a Saint Joe’s shooter wide open, or a player with an uncontested layup.
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“I thought the second half was much better,” Kieger said about the defense. “In the third quarter, we held them to 13 points. I just thought in the first half we had way too many mental lapses; not matching up in the press; not matching up in defensive transition.
“I thought we fixed that in the second half. Saint Joe’s didn’t get as loose for catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Our zone was a game-changer. As a staff, I thought we coached a really good second half.”
The biggest defensive catalyst for Penn State has been French freshman guard Tèa Clèante, who recorded two more steals Sunday afternoon, including one late for a fastbreak layup that nearly put the game away for the Lady Lions.
After mising the season opener due to illness Clèante has been an X-factor, from relentless pressure at the point of attack to a reliable offensive threat. She showed more of the latter against Saint Joe’s, finishing the game with 23 points on a team-high five 3-pointers and three assists.
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“It was a sensation,” Clèante said about her performance. “It was difficult missing the first game because of COVID. It’s a lot of new things for me – new team, new players. I just need more time to adapt.
“Defensively, I want to give thanks to my team. I feel like everybody wants to defend and get steals. So it’s helpful for me to see everyone want it, and I want to be a part of it as well. I have long arms, so it’s easier for me too. But yeah, when I look at my team wanting to do great things on defense, I think to myself ‘I will do something too.'”
Clèante is still growing more comfortable with English, but she’s fluent in the universal language of basketball, as is the rest of Penn State women’s basketball, who has gelled together quite well according to Kieger. The team continues to preach that everyone on the roster can have a big game; it just so happened that Sunday’s was Clèante’s.
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“We have 12 X-factors,” center Gracie Merkle said. “If it’s not my night or Kiyomi’s night or Moriah Murray’s night, somebody’s gonna step up. Tèa stepped up today, and we’re all gonna have our time one day.”
Merkle was the game’s leading scorer and rebounder with 25 points and 11 boards, but she was challenged individually by the pace Saint Joe’s played. It was hard at times for the 6-foot-6 post player to move in transition, but she was able to push through for her team.
She also did well in halfcourt settings, where the Hawks tried to draw Merkle out with perimeter shooting, but Merkle was able to mover her feet and close out more often than not.
“I thought Gracie did a really good job pushing through in key moments,” Kieger said. “She worked a lot on her defense in the offseason to be able to guard and defend in 5-out sets.”
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An underrated element that should provide a great learning experience for Penn State is executing in opposing territory. The arena wasn’t filled to capacity, but it was an old-style gym, where the cheers and boos of the crowd can be multiplied , It’s hard to operate in those settings, and it showed throughout the game, but the Lady Lions were able to play their game despite that.
“It was not easy all the time, but we just stayed together during the entire game. It’s why we won,” Clèante said.
That experience will help when Penn State plays its next true road game – in Columbia against Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks. But for now, the focus turns to the Battle 4 Atlantis, where the Lady Lions will play Princeton on Nov. 22 and San Diego State on Nov. 24.
With a week to prepare after a win that provided a lot of lessons, Penn State is poised to take a step forward in the Bahamas.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State women’s basketball answered the bell against Saint Joe’s
