SEATTLE, Wash. – Penn State women’s basketball fell to No. 25 Washington 81-65 inside Alaska Airlines Arena on Wednesday night.

With the loss, the Nittany Lions drop to 7-13 (0-9 Big Ten) while the Huskies improve to 15-4, 5-3 Big Ten. Despite four lead changes and four tie scores, Washington used a strong third quarter effort to build its lead and seal the victory.

Redshirt junior center Gracie Merkle led the Lady Lions offensively with 19 points on nine-of-14 shooting from the floor. The Kentucky-native added eight boards, an assist, a steal and a block to round out her stat sheet.

Sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller followed in the point column with 11 points. Merkle’s eight rebounds alongside Shaelyn Steele’s eight tied for the team-high in boards.

Téa Cléante and Steele both dished out four assists to tie for a Penn State team-high and Steele’s pair of steals led the team outright.

Neither team managed to convert on their first offensive opportunities until the Huskies got the scoring going with a three-point jumper. Merkle added the first points for the Lady Lions, but Washington had an answer on the opposite end.

The squads traded scores with McMiller responding with a two-point bucket. Washington strung together back-to-back baskets but a steal from McMiller gave Steele the opportunity for a put-back basket.

The Huskies drained a long-range two-pointer to spark a 6-0 run and force PSU into a timeout. Clèante broke the dry spell for the Lady Lions using a driving layup, but Washington answered with four consecutive points to create an 11-point gap.

McMiller launched a shot from beyond the arc to cut the margin to eight, but the Huskies had the final points after a series of missed PSU opportunities. Washington led 21-11 after 10 minutes of action.

After a stop on defense, Vitória Santana opened the scoring for Penn State with a shot from long-range, but the Huskies responded with five-straight points. McMiller used a pullup jumper to inch PSU within 10 points.

Neither team put up any points on their next trips down the court until an alleyoop for the Huskies added to their total. Moriah Murray found McMiller in the paint to cut the margin to 10.

A free throw for Washington was followed up with a set of points from Merkle. The Huskies responded with a pair of points of their own before a 13-0 PSU run began.

Nyla McFadden and Merkle led the charge with four points each in addition to a basket from Steele and a long three from Ranisavljevic to capture the lead for the first time in the contest at 33-31.

Washington concluded its scoreless stretch with seven points while PSU only added two take back the lead for the home squad. Merkle had the final word of the second stanza to draw the score to 38-37 at the end of the first half.

McFadden hit a three-pointer to begin the third quarter to take a two-point advantage for the Lady Lions, but Washington used two shots from the charity stripe to knot the score.

The teams traded baskets with McMiller and Clèante adding points for PSU. The Huskies pulled ahead by four using two free shots. Steele hit a shot from the paint to cut the margin to two, but Washington responded with a jumper of its own to maintain the four-point gap.

Neither team found the net for nearly three minutes of game time until the home team added a driving layup to take a 52-46 at the two-minute mark.

Merkle made just one of her free throws before a Huskie three-pointer. The center added another basket, but five straight points grew the Washington lead to 11. Merkle added the final points of the stanza, but the Huskies owned a 60-51 lead after 30 minutes of play.

Washington used a three-pointer to begin the final period and Merkle added to the board for the Lady Lions on the other end. The Huskies utilized an offensive rebound to build a 12-point lead, forcing Penn State to take a timeout.

Clèante drained a shot from beyond the arc out of the break before the Huskies added four-straight points. The Washington run was followed by over two minutes of silence from both teams.

Steele broke the drought with a turnaround jumper, but the Huskies immediately responded with a long three-pointer. The three sparked a 7-0 run to create an 18-point lead for Washington.

Merkle put up two points to total 19 on the evening, but the Huskies continued their offensive dominance, adding three points to create a 19-point margin. A pair of free throws for Ranisavljevic was answered by a turnaround shot for the home team.

Santana added the final points of the contest with a three-pointer, but the Huskies still led, earning a 81-65 victory.