Pair of losses set Lady Lions back in quest for title

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It is amazing how things change so quickly for the Penn State women's basketball team.

After winning three games in a row, the Lady Lions felt the Big Ten title was still within grasp. But after losing to No. 25 Illinois, 94-79, added with a tough home loss to Northwestern on Friday, Penn State (11-9, 4-6 Big Ten) may have lost what little grasp it had.

"It was a hard-fought battle," Penn State coach Rene Portland said after yesterday's game at Illinois' Huff Hall. "(Illinois) played extremely physical."

The Lady Lions could not rebound from a huge 20-6 run by Illinois (17-4, 9-2) in the final 3:25 of the first half to lead 53-38 at intermission.

"It was 50 seconds of torture," Portland said.

In fact, Penn State couldn't rebound at all. Illinois dominated the boards, 49-36, thanks in large part to the play of freshman forward Tauja Catchings, who had 13 boards to complement her game-high 21 points.

"We picked up momentum," Illini guard Ashley Berrgren said, who scored 19 in the win. "We controlled the boards and used the running game to our advantage."

To add injury to insult, senior forward Angie Potthoff took a tough fall in the second half and injured her nose but came back to score 26 points and grab 16 rebounds.

"We had problems matching up with their transition game," Potthoff said. "We fought to the end."

To lose to a ranked and improving Illini squad is tough enough, but to lose to Northwestern, 68-65, Friday at the Bryce Jordan Center was more devastating. The Lady Lions had plenty of chances to pull out the win, but key 3-point shooting by the Wildcats and bad execution by Penn State led to a loss Portland called "tough."

"We had ample opportunities to lock the door," Portland said, "and we didn't lock the door."

Northwestern has had its share of games that were lost in the final minutes. But Wildcat coach Don Perrelli has newfound confidence in his team after clutch shooting by senior guard Michele Ratay, who had 21 points in the win.

"Before this game, we knew we could beat everybody in the Big Ten, but we haven't beat anyone," Perrelli said. "To hold any team under 70 points is a good win for us."

Penn State could not find the range, especially from the 3-point line. The Lady Lions shot 39 percent, 29 from behind the arc. Enter Potthoff and freshman forward Andrea Garner. The frontcourt duo combined for 45 points to keep Penn State in the game.

But losing a game in the late seconds like the Lady Lions did was not enough for Potthoff to handle.

"We just have to get back in it and get back to work," said Potthoff, who scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. "We all have to take responsibility for ourselves and for what we did wrong. Keep on fighting. That's what will get us there."

Penn State is happy to see the friendly sight of the Jordan Center, especially with five of its last six games at home. Portland is still confident her team can make a run in the waning months to get back in the thick of things.

"I'm glad that we have a very young team who will remember this for a long time," Portland said. "We'll try to get some confidence back into this team."