Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T he Penn State women's basketball team hit a roadblock last year in its slow, steady climb back to na- tional prominence under coach Carolyn Kieger. The Lady Lions won seven games in Kieger's first season, then nine,11, 14 and 22. And then the bottom fell out. Penn State went 10-19 in Kieger's sixth season, including a 1-17 mark in Big Ten play. The Lady Lions' challenge going into the 2025-26 campaign is to regain their stride and get back to the postseason. They took a big step toward that goal when their best player, center Gracie Merkle, reconsidered her transfer to Maryland last spring, opting to come back to PSU for her redshirt junior sea- son. In her first season at Penn State, the 6-foot-6 Merkle led the team in scor- ing (15.5 points per game) and rebound- ing (8.6 per game). She ranked 16th in the Big Ten in the former category and sixth in the latter. An honorable men- tion all-conference choice, she shot 67 percent from the floor, the fourth-best rate nationally. That Maryland, a projected Big Ten title contender, wanted Merkle is an in- dication of just how highly the rest of the conference thinks of her. Kieger is thrilled to have her back. "Gracie Merkle is one of the most efficient post play- ers in the country, if not the most efficient," the seventh- year PSU coach said. "Her hands and footwork are phe- nomenal." W h i l e Pe n n S ta te wa s fending off the Terrapins for Merkle's services, it was also adding to its roster by land- ing a key transfer from a dif- ferent border rival. The Lady Lions brought in sophomore point guard Kiyomi McMiller, who last season averaged 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists at Rutgers, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. "Kiyomi has the best ball skills I've seen. She has a phenomenal handle," Kieger said. "She's an elite passer. She's so dynamic. You want the ball in her hands, and you want her to have her creativity and to play free. But also, you want the others to space the floor. We have a lot of great shooters, so it's going to be fantastic for Kiyomi to have more gaps to work with. … I've coached a lot of elite guards, and Kiyomi is up there with the best of the best." The Lady Lions will be a largely new team this season. Merkle is one of only four returnees, and the newcomers in- clude five freshmen, three of whom are international players. Kieger is eager to see her team in ac- tion when it opens the season Nov. 3 against Bucknell at the Bryce Jordan Center. "I absolutely love the synergy our team has right now," she said. "The in- ternational players are a breath of fresh air, and I love teaching them and show- ing them what the culture looks like in Happy Valley and helping their game flourish." ■ Lady Lions Boast Potent Inside-Outside Combo M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Gracie Merkle was Penn State's top scorer and rebounder last season, averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 boards per game in her first year at PSU after transferring from Bellarmine University in Kentucky. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS /PENN STATE ATHLETICS 2025-26 Penn State Women's Basketball Roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Elig. Home High School/Last College 2 Shaelyn Steele G 5-6 So. Ashland, Ky. Russell 3 Moriah Murray G 5-8 R-Jr. Dunmore, Pa. Dunmore/Drexel 4 Maggie Mendelson F 6-5 Sr. North Ogden, Utah Fremont/Nebraska 7 Viktoria Ranisavljevic G 5-7 Fr. Massagno, Switzerland 8 Nyla McFadden G/F 6-0 Fr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. St. Thomas Aquinas 10 Vitoria Santana G 5-8 Sr. Sao Paulo, Brazil E.E. Dr. Carlos de Campos 14 Amiya Evans F 6-2 Sr. Pensacola, Fla. DME Academy/Georgia 19 Tea Cleante G 5-9 Fr. Dunkerque, France 23 Kiyomi McMiller G 5-8 So. Silver Spring, Md. Life Center Academy/Rutgers 24 Shayla Smith G 5-9 Fr. Philadelphia, Pa. Universal Audenried Charter 25 Rachael Okokoh F 6-4 Fr. Montreal, Quebec Capital Courts Academy 44 Gracie Merkle C 6-6 R-Jr. Mount Washington, Ky. Bullitt East/Bellarmine