At the start of the Big Ten season, the Penn State women's basketball team charted its aspirations on a goal board in the locker room. At the top of the list was an NCAA Championship, followed by the Big Ten Championship.

But the Lady Lions made sure to keep their priorities in order, setting their sights on winning the second goal first.

After beating Northwestern, 98-71, Saturday at Rec Hall, the Lady Lions have one down, one to go. The victory gave Penn State (25-2, 16-2 Big Ten) a share of the league crown with Purdue (25-4, 16-2) only a year after joining the conference.

Now that the Lady Lions are pointing to their new season -- the NCAA Tournament and a first-round game against Patriot League champion Fordham.

"These kids know they're winners," Penn State Coach Rene Portland said. "We had a goal board, which the girls stuck to very religiously, and the Big Ten title was on that goal board. Now we go back to game by game."

The Lady Lions won a foul-prone contest that had 42 whistled by the referees. Both teams were already in bonus with eight minutes remaining in a first half that lasted nearly an hour, with Penn State leading, 56-37.

Seniors Helen Holloway and Jackie Donovan led the way after being recognized before the game for their outstanding careers, which saw them capture titles in both the Atlantic 10 and Big Ten conferences.

Holloway scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds and three steals, while Donovan poured in 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Junior guard Katina Mack added 16 points on 8-of-9 field goal shooting.

"With everything at stake for us, we just weren't ready to play," said Coach Don Perrelli, whose Wildcats (17-10, 9-9) were effectively eliminated from NCAA Tournament consideration after the loss. "The pressure was there. We knew it was coming and we didn't react to it very well."

Saturday's win came after a weekend which saw the Lady Lions struggle on the road, losing to Iowa on March 4, 78-68, and squeaking a victory over Minnesota, 92-85, in overtime on March 6. The Lady Lions beat Illinois, 91-68, last Thursday.

Note:

-- Saturday's attendance of 5,065 was the sixth-largest crowd for the Lady Lions and helped set a new season attendance record at Rec Hall. The season total of 51,399 in 12 games broke the previous record of 51,241.