MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – In the team’s first Big Ten Conference road game of the 2024-25 campaign, the Penn State women’s basketball team dropped a 90-54 decision to Minnesota inside Williams Arena Saturday afternoon.

Following the Nittany Lions’ inaugural Big Ten fixture on the road, the Nittany Lions dropped to 9-4 overall and 0-2 against Big Ten competition through the team’s final contest of the 2024 calendar year. Penn State returns home to the Bryce Jordan Center and will face off against the Iowa Hawkeyes in a 1 p.m. (ET) contest on New Year’s Day.

In the all-time series with the Golden Gophers, Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak to Penn State and edged closer to PSU’s lead, with the Nittany Lions leading 32-26 since the first meeting of the two programs. With the win, Minnesota remains unbeaten on its home floor while moving to 13-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten.

On Saturday’s final box score, the Nittany Lions came away with a 10-9 win in the offensive rebounding battle with a 4-3 win in the block column. Graduate guard Gabby Elliott booked a Penn State career-high with 19 points against the Golden Gophers, marking the most points she has scored against a Big Ten opponent in her three combined seasons at PSU and Michigan State.

Senior guard Jayla Oden tallied eight points, redshirt junior forward Grace Hall contributed seven and graduate guard Alli Campbell finished the afternoon with six.

The Golden Gophers capitalized on a baseline out-of-bounds situation to book the opening bucket of the fourth period, adding a 3-pointer and fastbreak layup to start the final frame on an 8-0 scoring run. Elliott continued to produce for the Lady Lions, nailing both of her free throw attempts at the 8:06 mark in the quarter.

Minnesota bookended a successful mid-range jumper from Campbell with a pair of layup attempts in the painted area, with UMN carrying a commanding lead into the fourth quarter media timeout. Jekot tallied a layup on the other end of the media intermission and Elliott logged another layup, but the Golden Gophers snapped back with a 6-0 reply.

Penn State mustered a 10-2 scoring run inside the final three minutes of play, but Minnesota was ultimately able to come away with a 90-54 result on its home floor.

PENN STATE (9-0, 0-2 BIG TEN)

Gracie Merkle -1 0-0 0; Gabby Elliott 7-11 2-3 19; MOriah Murray 1-6 0-0 2; Jayla Oden 2-7 4-4 8; Alli Campbell 3-10 0-0 6; Tamera Johnson 0-2 0-0 0; Grace Hall 3-5 1-2 7; Jill Jekot 1-3 0-0 2; Shaelyn Steele 2-3 0-0 4; Talayah Walker 0-3 3-4 3; Cam Rust 0-0 0-0 0; Vitoria Santana 1-1 0-0 3; Ariana Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 2-52 10-13 54.

MINNESOTA (13-1, 1-1 BIG TEN)

Mallory Heyer 4-7 0-2 11; Grace Grocholski 2-5 0-0 5; Sophie Hart 2-4 1-1 5; Amaya Battle 8-15 0-0 17; Tori McKinney 7-12 8-8 25; Annika Stewart 7-9 0-0 15; Alexsia Rose 2-5 0-0 4; Maggie Czinano 0-0 0-0 0; McKenna Johnson 1-3 2-2 4; Niamya Holloway 2-2 0-0 4; Kennedy Klick 0-1 0-0 0; Brynn Senden 0-0 0-0 0; Jordan Brooks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-63 11-13 90.

Penn State 9 9 16 20 — 54

Minnesota 24 20 25 21 — 90

3-point goals: PSU 4-17 (Elliott 3-4, Santana 1-1, Steele 0-1, Campbell 0-1, Walker 0-2, Oden 0-3, Murray 0-4), Minnesota 9-22 (Heyer 3-5, McKinney 3-7, Battle 1-3, Grocholskie 1-2, Stewart 1-2, Klick 0-1, Johnson 0-2). Fouled out: PSU-none; Minnesota-none. Rebounds: PSU 30 (Merkle 4), Minnesota 33 (Battle 6). Assists: PSU 14 (Murray 8), Minnesota 22 (Battle 7). Technical fouls: PSU-none; Minnesota-none. Total fouls: PSU 14, Minnesota 16. A: 5,312.