Eight minutes into Penn State's 57-54 loss to Purdue Friday night, the Lady Lions began to crumble. Center Missy Masley lost her contact lens and was unable to perform for several minutes. A 10-4 Penn State lead was wiped out when the Boilermakers' Jennifer Jacoby hit a three-pointer to cap a 7-0 run.

Then things really got bad.

Senior co-captain Helen Holloway was lost for the game when she suffered a severe laceration in the webbing of skin between her ring and pinky fingers on her left hand.

Moments after Jacboy buried the trey with 12 minutes, 10 seconds remaining, Holloway got the ball at the foul line, dribbled left to the basket and attempted a running left-hander.

"I came down and the girl from Purdue took a charge. I landed on (Purdue center Leslie) Johnson," Holloway said. "And I don't really know what happened after that."

Holloway was charged with an offensive foul, but at the time the call was insignificant. More importantly, she was lost for the remainder of the game.

"The bone came through the skin," said Holloway, who apparently caught her finger in Johnson's jersey as she fell. "A lot of blood was on the floor."

After the mess was cleaned, Purdue proceeded to mop up the Lady Lions. The Boilermakers finished the half on a 17-3 run, securing a 36-23 halftime lead -- the largest margin any team held against the Lady Lions all season.

"It was a tough break for us," Coach Rene Portland said. "We had to go a little bit in the first half without her and obviously Tina Nicholson because of the foul situation and we fell apart."

Nicholson had only two points to go with the pair of personal fouls she picked up in the first half and spent time on the bench in the first half. Holloway, however, never returned.

"She was at the hospital because her joint was exposed. The orthopedic surgeon x-rayed her --it is not fractured, so we're very fortunate," Portland said. "She'll be a sore little critter."

And the Lady Lions will sorely miss her presence. The 6-foot forward leads the team in both scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (7.1 rebounds per game) and provides the emotional balance as a consistent performer and team leader.

Holloway was expected to dress for yesterday's 70-65 win at Indiana. But she didn't play and her status is uncertain for Sunday's home game versus Michigan State.