Lady Lion turnaround upends critics

By ANN TATKO
Collegian Sports Writer

The crown of the Big Ten champion has primarily gone to Ohio State and Iowa since the conference first sponsored women's basketball in 1981.

The Buckeyes claimed eight titles, the Hawkeyes six.

Then, two years ago, Penn State entered the Big Ten amid criticism that it did not belong in this conference.

But the women's basketball team paid no heed to the critics. Instead, the Lady Lions set out to prove they belonged where Ohio State and Iowa had reigned for so long.

On Sunday, each Lady Lion stood on top of the ladder cutting down the nets. The criticism is long forgotten. Now, there are just hugs and smiles.

To put it simply, Penn State has a 2-0 record in pursuit of the Big Ten title. An 83-70 win over Ohio State on Sunday gave the team a share of the crown with Purdue for the second consecutive year.

But this year, the achievement had more significance for the Lady Lions.

They started Big Ten play with a 1-2 record and a seventh-place standing. Coach Rene Portland said her players had to re-evaluate where they were headed and begin the climb back to the top.

"We had big dreams, and then they got crushed," Portland said. "The players learned that they'd have to make their own season."

Penn State rebounded from the slow start to finish the regular season at 22-4, 13-3 in the Big Ten. The team is ranked No. 8 by the Associated Press and No. 9 in the USA Today/CNN Poll.

Now comes the second phase of the season and a chance to enter the 1995 NCAA Championship as the best team from the Big Ten. In its first conference tournament since 1982, the Big Ten will decide its automatic NCAA bid at this weekend's tourney in Indianapolis.

Because of a better overall record, Penn State received the No. 1 seed, while Purdue is No. 2.

Guard Carla Coleman said despite the seedings, she expects teams will be gunning for both Penn State and Purdue.

"We played all season to be the No. 1 seed," Coleman said. "But every team's going to go after this hard. It's like any tournament -- one loss and you're done."

The Lady Lions will play in the quarterfinals at noon on Saturday against the winner of the Minnesota-Iowa game. If they advance, they will play the winner of the Northwestern-Indiana game at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the semifinals.

The tournament final is at 7 p.m. on Monday.