Penn State Advances to Face Iowa in Big Ten Women's Tournament

The Lady Lions will meet Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

The Penn State women's basketball team put together a strong performance Thursday in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament. Its reward? A quarterfinal game against Iowa and NCAA all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark.

The Lady Lions routed Wisconsin 80-56 in a second-round game in Minneapolis, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. Coincidentally, that's the last time Penn State made the NCAA Women's Tournament. To get off the NCAA bubble, Penn State (19-11) might need to upset second-seeded Iowa in Minneapolis.

Four Penn State players scored in double-digits Thursday, with Kylie Lavelle leading with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Ashley Owusu added 13 points and six rebounds, as the Lady Lions shot 49.2 percent. Penn State blended its scoring, getting 37 points from the bench, and dominated the paint, where it scored 44.

Now, the Lady Lions face one of their biggest challenges of the season. Third-ranked Iowa (26-4) enters the Big Ten Tournament having just beaten top-seeded Ohio State on Sunday, when Clark became the leading scorer in NCAA basketball history. Clark leads the nation in scoring, averaging 32.3 points per game, and has scored 968 points the season. Further, Iowa has dominated the recent series against Penn State.

The Hawkeyes (26-4) have won nine straight against Penn State, averaging 102.8 points per game in the last six. Iowa won the regular-season meeting 111-93 in February, a game in which Clark scored a moderate 27 points and committed 12 turnovers. However, Hannah Stuelke scored a career-high 47 points, making 17 of 20 shots. Clark had 15 assists on Stuelke's record night.

Penn State seeks its first bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament since 2014. Coach Carolyn Kieger's team has won 19 games, the most in her five seasons, and is a bubble team for the 2024 women's tournament. ESPN's most recent bracketology lists Penn State among the first four out of the tournament.

How to watch Penn State vs. Iowa in the 202 Big Ten Women's Tournament

Seventh-seeded Penn State meets No. 2 Iowa at 6:30 p.m. ET Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Big Ten Network will televise. Streamers can consider FuboTV (start your free trial).

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