This one was close for awhile.

But after center Kathy Phillips won the opening tip, Duquesne lost its advantage. And No. 22 Penn State crushed the Lady Duchesses, 115-67, last night at Rec Hall.

The 115 points were the highest ever in an Atlantic 10 game, breaking the previous record of 110 set by Rutgers against St. Bonaventure last season. It was also the third-highest scoring output by any Lady Lion team. The all-time record of 118 was set against Cortland State in 1981.

The Lady Lions also set a record for points in a half with 68, tying the record for points in a half set against West Virginia in 1983.

"The first half we came out and we were very focused," Coach Rene Portland said. "We crushed them on the rebounds and that certainly was part of our goals."

"We came out and played the way we were supposed to play," Susan Robinson said. "We knew what we had to do, but we knew we could pull it out if we didn't play like we should."

"They are Penn State, they are Top 20 ranked," Duquesne coach Renee DeVarney said. "Thank God, she put her third team in."

Penn State raised its record to 14-3 overall and 8-0 in the A-10 while lowly Duquesne fell to 1-15 and 0-9. The Lady Lions, who were No. 18 last week, fell four spots in the latest Associated Press poll after last week's loss to Maryland.

Portland said she was worried about a letdown after the team's emotional victory over West Virginia on Saturday.

"They were just going through the motions on Sunday," Portland said. "Usually after a big game they are goofy."

Robinson said that she and the team would rather play a close game like the one against West Virginia instead of a blowout because, "those are the ones you look for."

But against the Duchesses, there was to be no letdown.

The Lady Lions opened the game on a 15-0 run and held Duquesne scoreless for the first 4:10. In the early going, the Lady Lions were led by Robinson, who scored 16 of her 18 points in the first 10 minutes. The Lady Lions dominated inside grabbing 36 rebounds, 21 on the offensive boards, in the first half while the Lady Duchesses had just 20. The squad finished with 55 rebounds, a season-high.

Once again Portland emptied her bench with freshman Kim Lazor seeing quality minutes.

"Kim Lazor did a real nice job," Portland said. "She is a great passer and rebounder."

Lazor led the bench with 13 points and nine rebounds, both season highs. Adrie DeVries also tossed in 10 points along with Tina Henry hitting for 10, another season-high.

Penn State scored at ease against an undermatched Duquesne team that shot a dismal 26 percent in the first half. The Lady Duchesses were led by Erin Kelly, who scored 20 points. Penn State held the Duchesses to only 40.3 percent shooting for the game, also a season-best of the Lady Lions.

Meanwhile, the Lady Lions shot 59.6 percent in the first half and hit five-of-six from 3-point land. For the game, the Lady Lions hit 75 percent of their 3-pointers, also a season high. The record-smashing win also netted a season high in assists with 33.

Even though Penn State went into halftime with a 44-point lead, cruising at 68-24, it did not let up in the second half.

The Lady Lions began the second half with a 33-15 run for a 62-point bulge, at 101-39.

From then on Penn State put it in second gear as it eased to the 48-point victory.

The Lady Lions made 48 field goals breaking the season-high of 46 set against St. Bonaventure. Phillips added 14 points and guard Tanya Garner had 12 points on five-of-seven shooting. Forward Lynn Dougherty, who sprained her ankle in the second half, scored only two points. However, Dougherty is expected to play against Massachusetts Thursday night.