Every morning bright and early, Lynn Dougherty can be found shooting at Rec Hall. While her roommate, Susan Robinson, dreams of doing the same as she waits for her 8 o'clock class, Dougherty is busy working out.

The practice paid off last night during the women's basketball team's 82-80 victory over Rutgers. Dougherty, a sophomore forward, hit for a career-high 20 points and Robinson scored her normal 20-plus (25) points. The two are definitely on the same wavelength.

"She hit a career high for herself," Robinson said. "I guess she hasn't been getting up at 7:30 a.m. for nothing. She's not one to get up that early."

Since the middle of January, Dougherty has performed her early morning ritual.

On a night where the other Lady Lions' starters were in foul trouble, it was the Robinson/Dougherty duo that kept Penn State in the game. In the first half, however, Rutgers limited Dougherty to just five points and Robinson scored most of her 12 points in the last five minutes of the half.

It was a different story in the last 20 minutes.

Rutgers started the second half by fighting back from a three-point deficit to take a 42-41 lead. Dougherty hit for back-to-back 3-pointers to give Penn State the lead and temporarily reverse the momentum.

"I'd like to think it is (proof of my efforts)," Dougherty said. "But I hope there are more nights like this one."

Her previous career-high had been 17 against Virginia. Dougherty also had four assists and a game-high three steals. After Rutgers made yet another run, Dougherty drove to the basket, hit the layup and was fouled. She completed the three-point play to put Penn State ahead to stay, 53-51.

Coach Rene Portland said after the game that she expects the No. 2 and No. 3 spots (the shooting guard and small forward) to average at least 10 shots per game. With Garner in foul trouble, Dougherty finished 8-for-13 from the field.

"Dougherty's the glue to the team," Rutgers coach Theresa Grentz said. "She's a key player and I like the way she plays."

Portland said, "Lynn did a great job. She was reading the zone well (and after the back-to-back treys), the roof must have fell down."

For Robinson, it was another typical evening. She would hit 15-footers from the outside, go inside and get fouled or hit a short layup. Last night, she even added one more shot to her repertoire -- hitting her first career 3-pointer.

"She's not ready to graduate yet," Grentz quipped when asked of her plans to stop Robinson.

With 1:36 to play, Robinson hit a turnaround five-foot shot that gave the Lady Lions a four-point lead, 79-75.

"It was typical Susan. She played consistent and real smart," Portland said. "She could've got the ball more (inside), but we were concerned with turnovers."

Robinson now only needs 12 points to become the first sophomore in school history to score 1,000 points after her second year. She has at least four games left to do it. She has also moved within 73 points of Penn State's top 10 career-scoring list.

"It was the same old Susan Robinson," Dougherty said. "She would back it out or put it in the basket."

"She's a very tough player to guard inside and outside," Lady Knights' forward Vicki Picott said.