Had Rene Portland thought of it sooner, maybe yesterday's game wouldn't have been so close. Against an Iowa team that was minutes away from an upset, moving to a 2-3 zone was screaming for Portland's attention. After all, it had worked to perfection earlier in the game. Why didn't she switch to it sooner?

"Because I had an aneurysm," the women's basketball coach said. "I forgot all about it."

Nonetheless, Portland couldn't have scripted the excitement any better. The No. 1 women's basketball team (18-0, 9-0 in the Big Ten) survived a second-half scoring onslaught in a 63-61 nail-biter against No. 8 Iowa (14-3, 7-2) before a record 7,264 Rec Hall fans yesterday.

The win gave the Lady Lions 18 straight victories, which ties the team's longest win-streak ever, set in 1991.

The Lady Lions led for most of the game, posting a 37-26 halftime advantage. But Iowa outscored Penn State 35-26 in the second frame, the turning point coming halfway through when the Hawkeyes recorded a 13-4 run.

With less than three minutes left, Iowa found itself up 61-57. It was a moment frozen in time, a moment in which Hawkeye forward Necole Tunsil could sense panic in some of her opponents.

"It looked like they doubted themselves," said Tunsil, who exploded with 28 points to lead all scorers. "If they all would've looked like they panicked, we'd have been driving it down their throats."

Luckily for the Lady Lions, they didn't all panic -- Tunsil noticed the calmness of Tina Nicholson and Helen Holloway, who drew Penn State together. It was a time when a series of seemingly slow-motion moments took over.

Sophomore guard Nicholson hit a layup with 2:11 remaining, and junior guard Katina Mack then tied the game at the free-throw line.

Hawkeye center Andrea Harmon missed her one-and-one at the line off a Nicholson foul, and Tunsil fouled senior guard Jackie Donovan, who hit two clutch free throws to put the Lady Lions up 63-61.

With less than 20 seconds left, Nicholson swiped the ball away from Tunsil at center court. Mack was then sent to the line but missed her attempt in the one-and-one.

"In the past couple of games, we really got the job done when it came down to the last couple seconds on the line," Mack said. "I kind of choked."

It led to another Iowa possession and time-out. They had one last chance with 6.9 seconds left. It was freshman guard Erinn Reed who shot the field goal all eyes were glued to, a field goal that tipped the rim and landed comfortably into the hands of junior center Missy Masley.

"Ironically, the game came down to rebounding, and it came down to the last check-out," Portland said. "We're not a great rebounding team . . . so it was neat for us to get that last rebound and end the game with the ball in our hands."

Nicholson led the Lady Lions with 16 points and Mack contributed 15. In the first half, the Lady Lions pulled away on the strength of a 13-6 run, and forcing two 30-second violations with a tenacious defense.

On Friday, the Lady Lions had a battle with unranked Minnesota (11-6, 4-4), finally prevailing 87-77. They held the nation's No. 2 scorer, Carol Ann Shudlick, to six points in the first half. Shudlick committed three fouls in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half.

But Shudlick had 24 points in the second to best her average of 25.6. The Lady Lions answered with Nicholson, who picked up a career-high 26 points. Mack added 20, and Masley tied her career high for rebounds with 13.

In the first half, the Golden Gophers held a 22-17 lead when the Lady Lions went on a 16-2 tear. The Lady Lions would never trail after that.

"We played very, very intimated," Minnesota Coach Linda Hill-MacDonald said. "It was a very physical game inside . . . (the) Penn State players blocked a few shots, and then we became very, very tentative."