As the seconds ticked down throughout most of the second half, the suspense of last night's women's basketball game wasn't who was going to win, but would Duquesne score again.

With the Duchesses shooting airballs, throwing away passes and doing just about everything possible to keep them from making a basket, the No. 2 Lady Lions (14-1) took advantage and kept running all the way to a 95-42 rout in Rec Hall.

In the first 13:30 of the second half, Duquesne (6-10) only managed six points and its offensive ineptitude covered up for Penn State's early sluggishness.

"We started out real sloppy," Coach Rene Portland said. "We had too many turnovers in the first half and allowed Darcie Vincent to do whatever she wanted. I don't think we played with a lot of enthusiasm tonight. Maybe we were bored."

In the first half, the Duchesses actually cut the lead to one point, 12-11, on a Tara Williams layup, seven minutes in.

"I think at the beginning of the game, we started out real calm but then we started going fast forward," guard Tanya Garner added. "On the transition we weren't taking the shots we normally take. We weren't getting the second effort."

But with the Lady Lions' use of a quick outlet pass creating easy layups and their solid outside shooting, the margin was up to 22 points at halftime.

The lead was 31 five minutes into the second half. Forty points with a little over nine minutes left. Fifty with six left. And on and on.

By the end, the game had turned into yet-another showcase for Penn State's bench, as it finished with 46 points in the contest. Adding to that was forward Susan Robinson's 19 points, Garner's 18, Kathy Phillips' 14 and Helen Holloway's 12.

"Defensively, we had goals not to let them score over 55 and have no one score over 20 points -- we did that," Portland said.

Duquesne was led by Darcie Vincent's 20 points. No one else scored in double digits.

After a string of three wins by an average of almost 56 points, tomorrow's matchup with West Virginia at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. If the past games are any indication, tomorrow's matchup should be a much closer contest. In fact, Penn State, which is riding the crest of a 21-game home winning streak, whose last loss at home was to the Lady Mountaineers in the 1989 Atlantic 10 Tournament.

"I always call them the silent assassins," Portland said. "They'll come in fired up and play us tough.

"Their presses are interesting but I think we ought to handle them. After the Virginia game (a 73-71 win), we know what a press is," Portland said.

Prior to last night's game at St. Bonaventure, West Virginia's record was 8-6. The team is led by Rosemary Kosiorek and Donna Abbott, two players who always give Penn State fits.