STATE COLLEGE — Penn State women’s basketball dropped its first conference game of the season to Indiana by a 75-60 decision on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions move to 8-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten with their second loss this week.

Despite Indiana walking away with the victory, the back-and-forth nature of the contest led to seven lead changes and three tie scores throughout the game. The Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers split time with the lead, each holding the advantage for nearly 20 minutes apiece.

Three Nittany Lions scored in double figures with senior Jayla Oden leading the way with 19 points, marking her second consecutive game reaching the 10-plus-point mark. She also shot perfect from the free throw line, making all four of her shots. Oden also collected two assists and one steal. Redshirt-sophomore Gracie Merkle posted her 10th-straight game scoring in double figures with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field and four-of-five shooting from the charity stripe.

Graduate student Gabby Elliott was the final player in the trio of double figure scores, putting up 13 points on six-of-nine shooting from the field. Graduate student Alli Campbell was productive this afternoon, leading the team in rebounding with six boards to go with four points, four assists and one steal.

Penn State drew first blood with a two-point jumper from Moriah Murray after winning the opening tip. A defensive stop for the Nittany Lions was followed by two shots from the charity stripe for Jayla Oden who made them both. PSU forced two-straight turnovers on the defensive end to continue its 6-0 scoring run to begin the game. Indiana finally got on the board after two minutes of play with a layup off an offensive rebound.

Four consecutive points for the Nittany Lions were followed by the Hoosier’s first trip to the free throw line to make the score 10-4. Indiana forced a shot clock violation on the ensuing Penn State position to get the ball back and drain its first shot from long-range to make the score 10-7 heading into the media timeout. The teams traded baskets twice following the break, sealing the score at 14-13 after the first quarter, with PSU in the lead.

Alli Campbell scored the first points of the second stanza off an IU turnover in the early seconds. Indiana answered with a basket on its offensive end and then earned a stop on defense. Penn State forced two-straight turnovers, one in the backcourt and one in the press amidst putting up two more points, making the score a tight 18-17, still maintaining the lead. The Hoosiers’ Caroline Striplin made back-to-back baskets with one point from Merkle off a free throw in between which tied the game at 19-19, the first level score of the contest.

Tamera Johnson only made one of her two free throws in the next possession to give Indiana the ball back and allow it to take its first lead of the game with another two points from Striplin. A turnover from the Nittany Lions offense was followed by a miscue on defense for the Hoosiers forced by Murray which gave the ball back to the Nittany Lions, allowing Gabby Elliott to capitalize. Five unanswered point for the visitors gave them a four-point lead.

Oden chipped at the deficit, drawing it back to a 26-24 score but the Hoosiers converted yet again on their next position. IU extended to as much as a six-point lead before the Nittany Lions answered with a layup from Merkle and a turnover on the defensive end on the following Indiana possession. With just under a minute to play, Elliott converted two points on the fastbreak after causing a turnover, closing the margin to 30-28.

Oden drew a foul on her own defensive end and drained a two-point bucket off the IU turnover with one second on the clock, tying the score at 30-30 going into halftime.

INDIANA (7-3, 1-0 BIG TEN)

Lilly Meister 4-8 2-2 10; Shay Ciezki 1-5 2-2 5; Yarden Garzon 8-14 0-0 22; Julianna LaMendola 1-4 0-0 2; Chloe Moore-McNeil 2-8 0-0 6; Henna Sandvik 1-2 1-2 3; Karoline Striplin 12-12 2-2 27; Lexus Bargesser 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-56 7-8 75.

PENN STATE (8-2, 0-1 BIG TEN)

Gracie Merkle 6-8 4-5 16; Gabby Elliott 6-9 1-2 13; Moriah Murray 2-7 0-0 4; Jayla Oden 7-15 4-4 19; Alli Campbell 2-10 -0 4; Tamera Johnson 0-0 2-4 2; Talayah Walker 0-1 0-0 0; Grace Hall 1-2 0-0 2; Jill Jekot 0-0 0-0 0; Vitoria Santana 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 11-15 60.

Indiana 13 17 19 26 — 75

Penn State 14 16 13 17 — 60

3-point goals: Indiana 10-23 (Garzon 6-10, Moore-McNeil 2-5, Ciezki 1-3, Striplin 1-1, Bargesser 0-1, Meister 0-1, LaMendola 0-2), PSU 1-10 (Oden 1-2, Elliott 0-1, Murray 0-2, Campbell 0-5). Fouled out: Indiana-none; PSU-none. Rebounds: Indiana 30 (Moore-McNeil 5, Sandvik 5), PSU 25 (Campbell 6). Assists: Indiana 21 (Moore-McNeil 6, Ciezki 6), PSU 11 (Campbell 4). Technical fouls: Indiana-none; PSU-none. Total fouls: Indiana 13, PSU 6. A: 2,055.