Gameday preview: Gophers women's basketball vs. Penn State

4 p.m. vs. Penn State • Williams Arena • BTN Plus, 96.7-FM

Gophers update: The Gophers have started their past two games strong, then struggled in the second half. They still managed to win, in overtime, in Wisconsin, but the Gophers lost in Iowa by 13 after being outscored 54-31 in the second half. The Gophers have played Penn State just once in each of the past two seasons — both wins — but will get the Nittany Lions again this year at Penn State on Jan. 25. PG Jasmine Powell has scored in double figures in every game. F Kadi Sissoko has notched back-to-back double-doubles. G Sara Scalia, who is playing through a shoulder injury, has scored 29 points the past two games.

Lions update: The Lions (3-5, 0-4 Big Ten), after a close conference-opening loss to Purdue, have lost to Maryland, Ohio State and Indiana by an average of 12.7 points. Most recently, Penn State lost by 21 points, at home, to the Hoosiers. That's the same margin of victory recorded by the Hoosiers vs. the Gophers. So the teams should be evenly matched. The Lions are led by graduate student G Kelly Jekot (16.0 points, 6.6 rebounds), sophomore G Makenna Marisa (13.8 points, 5.8 assists) and senior F Johnasia Cash (11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds).

Note: The game is not on TV but is available on the BTN Plus subscription streaming service.

KENT YOUNGBLOOD