Defense and Susan Robinson keyed the women's basketball team 72-53 victory last night against a scrappy Massachusetts team in the Curry Hicks Cage.

Robinson scored 22 points, including 10 in a crucial stretch, and the Lady Lions held UMass' leading scorer, Helen Freeman, to only 11 points.

"Susan played real well and Kathy Phillips did a great job on Freeman," Coach Rene Portland said. "We started out slow, but when it got dirty and sloppy we pulled it out."

The Lady Lions, who fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll after last week's losses, improved their overall record 17-5 and 11-2 in the Atlantic 10. The Minutewoman fell to 3-19 and a lowly 1-13 in the conference.

"I thought we started out slow; we were tentative," Robinson said. "Once we got into our rhythm we started taking it to them."

It did take a while for the Lady Lions to get started as the Minutewomen opened up a five-point lead early in the first half. Penn State didn't take its first lead until the 12:48 mark of the first half when guard Dana Eikenberg hit a jumper inside the 3-point line to make it 5-13.

From that point on, however, it was all Lady Lions and they never trailed again.

After a Stefeni Thomas jumper made it 28-21, Penn State had its biggest lead. The Lady Lions went in at halftime up 34-27, led by Robinson and Lynn Dougherty. Dougherty netted 13 points in the first half and finished with 15 for the game, on 7-of-12 shooting. She injured her back in the second half, however, and is questionable for tomorrow's game at Rhode Island.

Portland said an important part of the game was when Eikenberg picked up her second foul and freshman Jen Kretchmar entered the game instead of senior Dawn Chambers -- who has been ineffective off the bench in her past two games.

"We got ourselves in foul trouble and we went to Kretchmar and she did a very good job," Portland said.

"She had a real nice game and made some great passes," Robinson added.

Kretchmar didn't score but she had three assists.

In the second half, Robinson began to wear down the Minutewomen's defense. During one seven-minute stretch, she scored 10 of the Lady Lions' 12 points and increased the team's lead to 51-37 with a pair of free throws.

Penn State continued to build its lead, using defense to hold down UMass. The Minutewomen scored just 26 points in the second half -- and during one five-minute stretch they didn't hit a single field goal. Thirteen of their 26 points came off the foul line.

UMass shot just 32 percent for the game and had 23 turnovers. After Freeman fouled out with just 11 points, Portland emptied the bench as the lead grew to 21 points, with 40 seconds left.

Robinson's 22 points marked her 50th-straight game in double figures. She also pulled down eight rebounds. Phillips contributed seven points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Penn State shot 47.3 percent for the game and outrebounded UMass, 41-31.

UMass was led by Keyburn McCusker with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Lady Lions now travel to Rhode Island to battle the woeful WRams.

"We are very upbeat that this will carry over into (tomorrow)," Portland said.

The Lady Lions will get a little break form the two-game road trip today when they visit the Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield, Mass.