Kiyomi McMiller for two, McMiller for three; those are the two phrases that fans heard a lot of over the public address in Rec Hall against No.12 Michigan State on Saturday.
McMiller finished with a career-high 37 points, but Penn State was unable to pull off the upset bid, falling 81-70. This marked the Silver Spring, Maryland native’s second-straight 30-point outing, and her third of the season. McMiller’s previous career-high was 36 points in the Lady Lions 74-73 loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 4.
The blue and white had one of their best first-quarter performances of the season, scoring 28 points, 16 of which came from McMiller.
“I think we got to figure out a way to capitalize on that first quarter,” coach Carolyn Kieger said. “It was our best first quarter, I thought, in a couple of years.”
McMiller, along with the rest of the Lady Lions, had a near-flawless opening frame. As a team, Penn State shot 11-for-16 from field-goal range, but McMiller went 7-for-8 on her own.
“(I) focused on making those layups and making those points in the paint,” McMiller said. “That was a big game changer for me in my head.”
The sophomore guard’s scoring effort got going right away. After Jalyn Brown got the Spartans on the scoreboard first with a two-point jumper, McMiller quickly answered with a three-pointer on the other end.
This marked the first of two shots from beyond the mark that McMiller netted in the opening quarter. The 5-foot-8 guard’s offensive effort came mostly from two-point range, as she finished with three triples in the afternoon.
Behind the two three-pointers, a couple of baskets from inside, as well as sharing the wealth with other Lady Lions, McMiller guided Penn State to a 12-0 scoring run.
“I thought we came out and had a lot of energy; we were playing really well together,” Kieger said. “Our chemistry was great, we were fun to watch, fun to coach, fun to play with each other.”
McMiller put the cherry on top of a strong opening frame with an elbow jumper as just 12 seconds remained on the clock. This gave the blue and white a 15-point lead to close the first quarter.
The sophomore went quiet in the second quarter, shooting 0-for-6 in the frame, but getting two points from the free throw line with just under two minutes left in the half. Still, McMiller went into the locker room with a little less than half of Penn State’s points.
“I got to the paint a lot, but I didn’t finish the play,” McMiller said. “I think that I (need to) play a complete game all the way through all 40 minutes.”
McMiller was still rather silent in the third quarter, finishing with seven points, but she was the Lady Lions’ only scorer in the frame, allowing Michigan State to creep back into the game.
The fourth quarter was a similar showing, with McMiller scoring 12 of the blue and white’s 18 points.
As a team, Penn State shot 28-for-61 from field-goal range, but McMiller was responsible for more than half of these attempts, going 16-for-33.
“We got to share the basketball,” Kieger said. “We have to move the ball and got to share it.”
Nonetheless, history is history, and despite the Lady Lions not getting the outcome they wanted, it was still a career afternoon for McMiller.
It originally looked like the guard wasn’t going to meet her new career high, as she stood at 35 points with about 30 seconds left. However, a loose ball turned into a fast break layup, completing McMiller’s outstanding effort against a top-15 opponent.
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