Penn State Women’s Basketball Gets Trounced by Michigan State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — An all-around effort is what guided Michigan State to a convincing win on Thursday night over Penn State.
Nia Clouden controlled things for the Spartans scoring a team-high 16 points. Matilda Ekh and Taiyier Parks also added 15 points apiece in a dominant offensive performance for Michigan State.
Penn State hung around during the majority of the first half. During the final minutes of the first half there was an obvious change in momentum, which led to a blowout second half for the home team.
The Spartans shot 10-20 from 3-point range, completely out matching the Lady Lions 3-19 from distance. It was not just the shooting that held Penn State back on Thursday, but its defense more importantly, according to head coach Carolyn Kieger.
“If we don’t have our communication at one hundred percent we call it battlefield communication, max volume our defense is going to fall apart and it did tonight, '' Kieger said.
After her team gave up 78 points in its third straight loss after a brutal defeat to Iowa where it gave up over 100 points.
The Lady Lions didn’t do much of anything Thursday night aside from Makenna Marisa who scored 19 points. Penn State also got out rebounded 45-18, which seemed to pain Kieger the most — especially during the 17-4 run Michigan State went on to end the third quarter.
“We gave up… we gave up. I told the team that I’m not gonna coach a team and we’re not gonna wear the Penn State colors and give up,” Kieger said.
Penn State now drops to 9-10 on the season. Their next game will come at home against Maryland. Michigan State improves to 11-8 and continues their 3 game win streak. Their next matchup comes on Sunday as well with a trip to Rutgers.
Sam Kirk is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email sjk6325@psu.edu.
