Any time Rutgers and Penn State Women's Basketball face off on the hardwood, fireworks are obviously on the way. Both teams - led by Coquese Washington and Carolyn Kieger - are built on pace, pace, and more pace, ball security disregarded.
Sunday's game, however, was truly on a different level of up-and-down play, personified by the combined 48 turnovers.
In a track meet at the Bryce Jordan Center, the Nittany Lions (10-11, 1-9) blew a 17-point lead to the Scarlet Knights (9-12, 1-9) as they snapped their nine-game losing streak with a 77-73 win. The tempo was set from the beginning, with Penn State taking a 28-21 lead after the first quarter before the Scarlet Knights put together an improbable comeback.
Penn State led by as much as 17 points, going up 64-47 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but Rutgers closed the game with its best quarter of the season. After Nittany Lions guard Alli Campbell hit a layup to take a 68-55 lead, the Scarlet Knights closed the game on a 22-2 run, stifling driving lanes and forcing tough shots.
Kiyomi McMiller helped lead the comeback, with 8 of her team-high tying 15 points coming in the fourth quarter, including two deep threes to put the Scarlet Knights ahead.
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Penn State finished with three players in double-figures, led by Moriah Murray's 18 points, all in the first half. She went a blistering 6-for-8 from the floor - all of her shots coming from the three-point line - but was held scoreless in the second half. Still, her standout performance in the opening 20 minutes was a big reason for the Nittany Lions' lead.
Rutgers also had three players in double-figures, led by McMiller and Destiny Adams with 15 points. JoJo Lacey and Mya Petticord scored in double-figures as well with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Lacey hit three triples in the first half to keep Rutgers in the game.
After a red-hot first quarter from the floor, the Nittany Lions could not muster up the efficiency to close out the game. They shot just 9-for-25 (36%) and scored 26 points in the second half, after scoring 47 points on 18-for-30 (60%) shooting in the first half.
The comeback was led by the defense, as the Scarlet Knights methodically got stops that led to baskets. Penn State missed their last seven shots from the floor and committed eight turnovers in the fourth quarter as the offensive execution collapsed down the stretch.
Even after Penn State kept up its double-digit lead in the third quarter, the Scarlet Knights showed signs of fight with multiple mini-runs, but could not put it all together as the Nittany Lions would respond with timely buckets on the ensuing possessions. After the lead ballooned to 17 points, the defense showed more signs of life, holding Penn State scoreless in the last two minutes and cutting the lead to 12 points after a personal 5-0 run from Mya Petticord.
Adams had a 5-0 run of her own to bring Rutgers back to within reach early on in the fourth quarter, and the defense had its best seven-minute stretch of the season as the Scarlet Knights stormed ahead with stop after stop. In a two-minute stretch late in a six-point game, Penn State turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions and gave Rutgers life.
The Scarlet Knights took advantage.
McMiller drained a catch-and-shoot three to cut the lead to just three points, and Rutgers later tied the game on back-to-back possessions off a layup from Awa Sidibe and a free throw from Adams. The defense continued its run, forcing a turnover and missed three-pointer on the next two possessions before McMiller made her second three of the fourth quarter, a go-ahead triple that gave Rutgers a lead it would not relinquish.
Penn State turned the ball over two more times and missed a three trying to get back into the game, as McMiller and Lacey iced the game at the free throw line.
In a game where Rutgers shot 43% from the floor and turned the ball over 22 times, the Scarlet Knights came out with a win for the first time in 2025 thanks to their defensive intensity and the two stars shining in the final minutes, with other key pieces like Lacey and Petticord supporting them. Before the game, Lacey said the team continues to improve in finding secondary pieces to contribute, as Lacey herself has come alive as the third scoring option in recent weeks.
Looking at the big picture, this was a game Rutgers desperately needed to stay in contention for the Big Ten Tournament in March. The Scarlet Knights have escaped the conference's basement with Northwestern and Purdue still looking for their first Big Ten win. Rutgers is now tied with Wisconsin and Penn State with one win in conference play, with the Scarlet Knights owning a head-to-head victory over the Nittany Lions. The two teams will play for a second time to close out Big Ten play on March 2nd at Jersey Mike's Arena.
Rutgers had to find a way to get in the win column, and in the most improbable of ways, that mission was accomplished. More opportunities for victories lie ahead with an easier Big Ten schedule in February. But for now, the long losing streak has come to an end.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Kiyomi McMiller hits the go-ahead, game-winning three to give Rutgers the lead for the first time with a minute to play.
UP NEXT?
Rutgers will be back in action on Thursday, January 30th, as the Scarlet Knights return home and will face Illinois at Jersey Mike's Arena. The game will tip off at 7pm EST and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus, with radio broadcasts available on Fox Sports NJ and WRSU.
Penn State will play the second of a three-game homestand on Wednesday, as the Nittany Lions welcome No. 8 Maryland to Rec Hall. That game will tip off at 6:00pm EST and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
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