STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (Interstat) — Nene Ndiaye scored 20 points to lead Rutgers to a 76-72 victory over Penn State in a Big Ten women’s basketball game Sunday at Bryce Jordan Center. The Scarlet Knights built an early lead with a 22-point first quarter and held off a third-quarter surge by the Lady Lions. Kiyomi McMiller led all scorers with 27 points and added 11 rebounds for Penn State. Teammate Gracie Merkle contributed 21 points and eight rebounds. Rutgers improved to 9-9 overall. Penn State fell to 7-12. Attendance was 1,838.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (Interstat) — In a game defined by gritty defense and critical plays in the final minute, the Rutgers women’s basketball team secured a hard-fought 76-72 road victory over Penn State on Sunday at Bryce Jordan Center. The win snapped a two-game skid for the Scarlet Knights and handed the Lady Lions their fifth consecutive loss in Big Ten Conference play. The contest was a tale of contrasting strengths. Penn State, led by a dominant performance from Kiyomi McMiller, controlled the interior, outscoring Rutgers 42-30 in the paint. McMiller, a 5-foot-8 guard from Silver Spring, Maryland, was relentless, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Her backcourt partner, 6-foot-6 center Gracie Merkle of Mount Washington, Kentucky, added 21 points and eight rebounds, posing a constant challenge for the Rutgers defense. Rutgers, however, countered with superior perimeter shooting and capitalized on Penn State’s mistakes. The Scarlet Knights connected on 8 of 22 attempts from three-point range, while the Lady Lions struggled to a 5-of-25 showing from beyond the arc. Rutgers also turned 12 Penn State turnovers into 18 points, nearly doubling the Lady Lions’ output off turnovers. The game’s most important sequence unfolded in the final 90 seconds with Rutgers clinging to a narrow lead. After a McMiller three-pointer brought Penn State within 68-70 with 1:38 remaining, Rutgers’ Faith Blackstone was fouled and calmly sank two free throws to extend the lead to four. On the ensuing possession, Penn State’ Tea Cleante missed a three-pointer, and a scramble for the loose ball resulted in a held ball, with the possession arrow favoring Rutgers. Following a timeout, Rutgers worked the clock before Nene Ndiaye was fouled. The junior from Saly, Senegal, who led the Scarlet Knights with 20 points and six rebounds, made one of two free throws to push the lead to 73-68 with 28 seconds left. Penn State’s Merkle was fouled on the other end but could only split her pair, making it a four-point game. The decisive blow came on the inbound play. Rutgers’ Kaylah Ivey, who had 12 points and six assists, was fouled immediately. She made both free throws with 20 seconds remaining, extending the Rutgers lead to 75-69 and effectively sealing the victory despite a late McMiller layup. Rutgers’ defense held firm on Penn State’s final desperate three-point attempts, and Ivey added one more free throw for the final margin. The Scarlet Knights set an aggressive tone early, racing to a 22-17 lead after the first quarter behind efficient outside shooting. Penn State responded in the third quarter, outscoring Rutgers 22-17 to briefly seize momentum and narrow the gap. The fourth quarter became a back-and-forth affair featuring six lead changes and two ties before Rutgers executed its final-minute strategy to perfection. Beyond Ndiaye’s scoring, Rutgers received significant contributions from Imani Lester of Raleigh, North Carolina, who scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Blackstone of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who added 12 points. Lauryn Swann of New York provided a spark off the bench with 10 points. For Penn State, Nyla McFadden of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed nine points and five assists. Statistically, the game was remarkably even. Rutgers shot 40.6% from the field to Penn State’s 45.2%. Both teams had nearly identical offensive ratings, with Rutgers at 98.1 points per 100 possessions and Penn State at 96.6. The Scarlet Knights’ advantage came at the free-throw line, where they made 16 of 22 attempts compared to Penn State’s 11 of 18. The victory improves Rutgers’ overall record to 9-9 and its Big Ten mark to 1-3. Penn State falls to 7-12 overall and 0-5 in conference play. An announced crowd of 1,838 watched the game, which defied the pre-game analytics from National Statistical’s ELO system, which had projected Penn State with an 81% probability to win. Rutgers will look to build on the win when it hosts Michigan on Thursday. Penn State begins a two-game road trip at Washington on Wednesday.

Preview: Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Penn State Lady Lions STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (Interstat) — Two teams seeking to end prolonged slides will meet Sunday when the Rutgers women’s basketball team visits Penn State in a Big Ten Conference matchup. The Scarlet Knights (8-9) and Lady Lions (7-11) enter the contest mired in significant losing streaks. Rutgers has dropped five consecutive games, most recently a 73-54 loss at Northwestern on Jan. 11. Penn State has lost seven straight, including a 108-84 defeat at Ohio State on Wednesday. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. EST at the Bryce Jordan Center. Both teams have struggled offensively during their skids. Rutgers was held to 41 points in a loss to Maryland on Jan. 8 and has averaged just 52.2 points over its five-game streak. Penn State, while showing more scoring punch, has allowed an average of 90.1 points per game during its seven losses. A key matchup will feature guards Faith Blackstone of Rutgers and Moriah Murray of Penn State. Blackstone has been a bright spot for the Scarlet Knights, averaging 12.5 points over the last six games, including a 22-point performance in a win over Lafayette on Dec. 20. She scored 11 points with four rebounds in the loss to Northwestern. Murray is coming off a season-high 25 points against Ohio State. She has been a consistent presence for the Lady Lions, averaging 31.5 minutes per game during the losing streak. In their last outing, Rutgers received contributions from Nene Ndiaye (10 points) and Antonia Bates (nine rebounds) alongside Blackstone. Penn State’s loss to Ohio State featured a notable performance from Gracie Merkle (21 points) and Kiyomi McMiller (20 points, seven assists) to support Murray. The teams will meet again in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Feb. 21. For now, each is desperate for a conference win to halt their current slides and gain momentum for the second half of the season. Rutgers visits Michigan next on Jan. 22. Penn State travels to face Washington on Jan. 21.