BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Penn State walked into Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., hoping to secure its place in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, but Indiana made certain the Lady Lions had to wait a little bit longer.

The host Hoosiers opened the game with a barrage of three-pointers, seized control before the first media timeout, and never allowed the Lady Lions to recover in a 93-59 loss Saturday afternoon in Big Ten Conference action.

The loss meant that Penn State (11-18, 4-14 Big Ten) had to wait until Sunday to learn if it would advance. The Lady Lions needed Northwestern to upend Purdue in order to advance to tournament play. The Wildcats didn’t come through as a 67-72 win by Purdue eliminated Penn State and ended its season.

Despite the lopsided score against Indiana, Penn State still saw a dominant performance from redshirt junior Gracie Merkle, who continued her standout season with 22 points and 10 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the year.

Indiana’s early shooting surge defined the afternoon. After Penn State won the opening tip, the Hoosiers (17-13, 6-12) hit a corner three, then buried three more in rapid succession as part of an 18-0 run that turned a 2-2 game into a 20-2 deficit. Moriah Murray briefly halted the drought with a three-pointer, but Indiana closed the first quarter ahead 31-8 and carried that momentum into the second.

Merkle and Amiya Evans provided early second-quarter answers, and Murray connected on her third triple of the half, but Indiana’s pace and perimeter accuracy kept the margin wide. Freshman Nyla McFadden added two free throws, and Kiyomi McMiller scored on a drive, but the Hoosiers continued to convert in transition and at the arc, taking a 57-23 lead into halftime.

Penn State found more rhythm offensively in the third quarter. McFadden opened with a corner three, Merkle added two free throws, and then strung together eight straight points to briefly trim the deficit to 27. Murray hit her fourth three-pointer of the afternoon — marking her 24th career game with four or more made threes — and Viktoria Ranisavljevic added a basket as the Lady Lions pieced together a 6-0 stretch. Indiana responded again, however, and pushed its lead to 72-43 entering the fourth.

Merkle scored the first points of the final quarter on a tip-in, but Indiana countered with a 12-0 run that widened the margin to 84-45. McMiller added two free throws and Merkle scored on a hook shot to stop the stretch, and Penn State closed the game with 10 points over the final three minutes. Indiana, however, continued to score consistently and secured the 93-59 victory.

Even in defeat, Penn State’s individual performances stood out. Merkle recorded her 69th career double-figure scoring game and her 31st career 20-point outing, continuing a season in which she has been one of the Big Ten’s most productive interior players.

McFadden reached double figures for the second straight game with 11 points and five rebounds, while Murray’s four three-pointers gave her 12 points and reaffirmed her role as one of the team’s most reliable perimeter threats.