STATE COLLEGE — Penn State women’s basketball falls to No. 12 Michigan State, 81-70, on Saturday inside Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions drop to 8-16, 1-12 Big Ten while The Spartans improve to 20-4, 9-4 Big Ten. Despite Penn State’s best first quarter of the season, Michigan State outscored the Nittany Lions in the second half to secure the win.

Sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller spearheaded the Penn State offense, achieving a new career high 37 points. She also posted a new personal best 16 field goals made. The sophomore was effective on all ends of the court, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out three assists and notching one steal. Freshman guard Tea Cleante put forth her third-straight double figure scoring performance of the year with 10 points in addition to two assists and two steals. The Nittany Lions produced their best first quarter scoring performance of the year and largest first quarter lead of the campaign, both previous occurrences taking place last season.

The Spartans built their lead to six points after four unanswered points to start the final stanza. McMiller got PSU going offensively with a long jumper. Cleante used a steal-and-score to cut the margin to two points. Michigan State took a trip to the free throw line, but McMiller responded with two points of her own.

The Spartans drained a shot from long range before using a Penn State miscue to add another two points. McMiller cut the deficit to five but, MSU converted on its next two offensive possessions to widen the gap to eight points. The teams traded baskets before five-straight scores for the Spartans. Both teams added layups over the final minute, but Michigan State prevailed, securing a 81-70 win

McMiller picked u where she left off in the first half, converting a set of points to surpass the 20-point mark. Michigan State added four points on its next two attempts to pull within 10. McMiller drained her third three-pointer of the day to cross PSU over the 50-point threshold. MSU added one point from a free shot before McMiller netted a layup underneath the basket. Michigan State engaged in a 13-0 run to decrease the margin to one point with 1:55 on the third quarter clock, forcing PSU to utilize a timeout.

Following the break, neither team added points to the board until the final three seconds when MSU converted a three-point play to pull ahead 54-52 at the end of the third frame.