So smoothly it went. Lady Lion center Missy Masley controlled the tipoff against Iowa. Katina Mack retrieved the ball and zipped a pass to Tina Nicholson, who buried a three-pointer. A 3-0 lead on the first play. This was going to be easy.

Sorry, but Necole Tunsil was just beginning her day at the 19:08 mark of the first half.

Iowa's 6-foot-1 senior forward connected on the first of her game-high 28 points on a driving layup less than a minute into the Lady Lions' 63-61 victory over the Hawkeyes yesterday at Rec Hall. She scored 16 first-half points, including 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game to keep No. 8 Iowa within a point of the top-ranked Lady Lions.

"We had a game plan on her and the three defensive people that guarded her didn't come close," Lady Lion Coach Rene Portland said. "They did not acknowledge what we pointed out was her weaknesses."

And there weren't many. Tunsil's array of shots -- running jumpers, 15-footers from either corner and key baskets under the hoop -- made her a one-man show. She shot 12-of-19 from the floor and went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. More importantly, Tunsil scored when no one else could. Her scoring total accounted for nearly half of the Hawkeyes' final point total.

"It helps a great deal when someone like Necole, who can shoot very well anyway, is really on," Iowa Coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "That makes a big difference."

But Tunsil was prepared to make the game's deciding difference. Dribbling the ball up the court on the right sideline with 14.6 seconds remaining and a 63-61 Penn State lead, Tunsil was being defended by Mack. Suddenly, from behind came Nicholson.

"I just saw her," Nicholson recalled. "She had her back turned and my girl was up a little ways, so I just felt that I could reach back there and get it."

That she did. Mack recovered, was fouled and received a one-on-one free throw opportunity. She missed the front end and Iowa grabbed the rebound and called time out at 6.9 seconds. There was one last try for Tunsil to work her magic.

The plan was for Arneda Yarbrough to inbound the ball to freshman point guard Erinn Reed. The speedy frosh was to penetrate the lane and look for Tunsil who set a pick on a double-screen on the reverse side. But it never materialized. Reed missed the shot and the Lady Lions won the game.

"To be honest, we thought they were going to Tunsil," Portland said. "When they gave the ball to Reed and she was setting the pick, we were all stunned."

And relieved. Tunsil never got to wave the wand.