Penn State women’s basketball prepares for West Coast | Penn State Basketball News

Amid a five-game losing streak, Penn State’s chances of success next week are slim.

The Lady Lions travel to the West Coast to face No. 4 USC on Sunday at 8 p.m. and No. 1 UCLA on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m.

These two teams have a 98 percent chance of beating the Blue and White, according to ESPN analytics, and given Penn State’s recent poor performances, the next two games could result in big losses for the two California teams.

USC

Despite being new to the Big Ten Conference this season, USC is no stranger to the Lady Lions.

At last year’s Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Tournament, Penn State lost just one point to the Trojans, who won with a 31-point performance from then-freshman standout JuJu Watkins.

Now Watkins is emerging as the best player in the country, ranking third in the country with 24.9 points per game.

A month ago, Penn State’s Gracie Merkle would have been just behind Watkins at over 20 points per game, but after scoring a combined 24 points in four games, the 6-foot-10 center has plummeted to 16.8 points per game and has just about cracked the top 100.

In addition to Merkle, redshirt sophomore Moriah Murray was once a scoring threat behind the arc and led the nation in three-pointers made earlier this season. However, Murray has been silenced of late, scoring just seven points in four games, going 0-18 from behind over the same period.

Playing a USC team that has such consistent scorers in Watkins, Kiki Iriafen and Kennedy Smith – averaging 18.1 and 10 points per game, respectively – the Lady Lions will need to return to their November success, to even have a chance against a hot USC team.

UCLA

Just three days later, Penn State faces an even tougher conference opponent, undefeated UCLA, a team that defeated No. 2 South Carolina and No. 25 Michigan by a combined 31 points.

The Bruins are led by two young stars in Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice, both of whom are averaging in double figures and coming off All-Pac-12 seasons.

During Merkle’s dominant streak in which she posted a double-double of over 20 points, a match between her and Betts was one to mark your calendar.

However, opposing teams have severely limited Merkle’s production of late, with her only making 11 field goals in the last four games. Betts will likely do the same defensively, perhaps more so against Merkle.

Against a team that outscores its opponents by nearly 30 points per game, the Lady Lions will be looking for someone to step up and make plays. Most recently, that has been graduate Gabby Elliott.

Over the last four games, the former Michigan State and Clemson star is averaging nearly 23 points per game, including a career-high 32 points against No. 23 Iowa.

Elliott has shown that she can compete against top teams like the Hawkeyes, so she can only hope to continue her success against UCLA and hand the Bruins their first loss.

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