Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529598
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 4 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Penn State improved to 5-0 with a 100-55 vic- tory over Monmouth on Nov. 17 at the Bryce Jordan Center. The effort marked the second consecutive game in which the Lady Lions topped 100 points, coming three days after a 101-45 rout of visiting Niagara. Redshirt sophomore center Gracie Merkle had 20 points and 12 re- bounds in the win over Monmouth, her second double-double of the sea- son. Redshirt sophomore guard Moriah Murray finished with a team-high 23 points, while freshman guard Talayah Walker had 18. Only one of Penn State's first five opponents — Canisius — was able to hold the Lady Lions below 90 points. PSU beat the Golden Griffins 89-57 on Nov. 7 at the BJC. The Lady Lions are set to leave home for the first time this season with a visit to Orlando, Fla., for the WBCA Showcase Nov. 21-23, where they will face Marshall and Georgia. WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Fourth-ranked Penn State bounced back from a three-set loss at Wisconsin on Nov. 9 with victories over Illinois (3-0, Nov. 15) and Maryland (3-1, Nov. 17). Graduate outside hitter Camryn Hannah hit .360 and had 13 kills in the Nittany Lions' 25-23, 25-18, 25-21 win over the visiting Illini. Two days later in College Park, Hanna hit .500 with 17 kills and 6 digs, and Penn State de- feated the Terrapins in four sets, 25-13, 22-25, 25-13, 25-15. The Lions were 25-2 heading into the homestretch of the regular season. They were set to face two top-10 opponents before opening the postsea- son. No. 8 Purdue was slated to visit Rec Hall on Nov. 21, while Penn State will end its regular season by welcoming No. 2 Nebraska on Nov. 29. MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State fell to 0-4 in Big Ten play and 4-5 overall when it was swept by Wisconsin Nov. 15-16 at Pegula Ice Arena. The 18th-ranked Lions rallied twice in the third period of their opener against the Badgers, sending the game to overtime on a goal by senior for- ward Danny Dzhaniyev with 50.6 seconds remaining. But Wisconsin won 5-4 on a goal with just over a minute left in the extra period. The following night, Penn State surrendered 4 first-period goals and fell to the visitors, 6-3. Heading into a two-game series against visiting Michigan Nov. 22-23, sophomore forward Aiden Fink was leading the Lions with 12 points on 4 goals and 8 assists. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State was 11-3 overall and 4-0 in the At- lantic Hockey America conference following a home sweep of Lindenwood Nov. 15-16. The 11th-ranked Nittany Lions gave up a late lead in the series opener but rallied to win in overtime, 3-2, on a goal by senior defender Karley Gar- cia with 2:51 left in the extra period. Penn State rolled in the series finale, 7-1, with junior defender Kendall Butze amassing a career-best 6 points on a goal and 5 assists. Prior to their two-game series against visiting Robert Morris Nov. 22-23, junior forward Tessa Janecke was leading the Lions with 20 points on 8 goals and 12 assists. MEN'S SOCCER: Penn State's season ended with a 4-1 road loss to North- western on Nov. 3. The Nittany Lions dropped their last four games and finished 5-9-2 overall and 2-6-2 in Big Ten play. Graduate forward Aboubacar Camara led the team in both goals (5) and points (10) despite playing in only 11 of 16 games. The Nittany Lions will look to bounce back in 2025 after posting their first losing record since 2018, coach Jeff Cook's first season at Penn State. FIELD HOCKEY: Penn State ended its season with a 4-2 loss to Maryland on Nov. 1. The Nittany Lions finished 8-9 overall and 2-6 in conference play. They were eighth in the regular-season standings and didn't qualify for the seven-team Big Ten Tournament. Senior forward Sophia Gladieux led the Lions and was second in the conference with 45 points on 20 goals and 5 assists. She was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten honoree. CROSS COUNTRY: Senior Florence Caron finished fourth overall, lead- ing the 20th-ranked Nittany Lion women to a third-place showing at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, which took place Nov. 15 at Penn State's Blue and White Courses. Caron completed the 6-kilometer course in 19:41.7. Two weeks earlier, Caron was fifth in the Big Ten Championships at Illinois, finishing in 19:29.1 to help Penn State place fourth in the team standings. The PSU women's team earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Champion- ships, which will take place Nov. 23 in Madison, Wis. On the men's side, Penn State came in eighth at Big Tens and fifth at the Mid-Atlantic Regional. Sophomore Brian DiCola led the way in both races. He was 20th overall in Champaign with an 8K time of 23:10.5 and fourth at regionals with a 10K time of 29:37.1. — Matt Herb F A L L / W I N T E R S P O R T S N O T E B O O K Through 14 games, junior forward Tessa Janecke was leading the Penn State wom- en's ice hockey team with 20 points on 8 goals and 12 assists. PHOTO BY LEIGHTON SMITHWICK/PENN STATE ATHLETICS