Lady Lions look to fill new holes

Lady Lion center Em Clements wants to play. Her coaches want her to play. And now her teammates need her to play.

"I'm hoping for this weekend," said Clements, regarding her return from a stress fracture in her right foot suffered before the Jan. 24 home game against Minnesota. "Hopefully, I can get back for the team."

But the team Clements will eventually return to is not exactly the same batch of players she limped off the floor with a few weeks back. The Lady Lions have slipped to 13-11 overall and 6-8 in the Big Ten, good enough for eighth place in the conference. Under coach Rene Portland, Penn State has never finished with a record below .500. In fact, the last time the Lady Lions lost more than 10 games in a season was the 1988-89 campaign, when they finished 14-14.

However, despite the negatives, no Penn State player appears willing to swallow the "we're having a bad season" pill. And Portland is making sure of that.

"I think our team is in great shape," Portland said. "You go with the cards that are dealt to you."

After kicking the 1996-97 season off with seven straight wins, Penn State hit a brick wall and lost five in a row. From there Penn State has simply been inconsistent. After winning at Indiana on Jan. 10, the Lady Lions lost two straight before winning their next three. They then dropped two straight, rebounded to win two and, most recently, have lost their last two.

"We're a really close team this year," Clements said. "No matter what happens we'll stick together. Once a mate always a mate. Those two (Macciocco and Jarosz) are still my mates."

But without the long-range shooting of Macciocco and the 6-foot-6 Jarosz, the remaining Lady Lion bench is as follows: Jamie Parsons, Marissa Graby, Christine Portland, Stacy Brewer and Courtney Wicks. Combined, the five average just under 15 points per game.

"Yes, I'm getting more playing time now," Wicks said after scoring six points in nine minutes Sunday, "but it wasn't just given to me. I earned it."

Even if Clements is to return to action this week, she won't be expected to play the whole game, and most likely regular starters Angie Potthoff, Tiffany Longworth, Shauntai Hall, Andrea Garner and Helen Darling will be forced to play more than they are accustomed to. On Sunday, Potthoff played 40 minutes, Longworth 37, Garner 33, Darling 27 and Hall 18.

"I don't think that's a factor at all," Portland said of her starters and their minutes.

Factor or not, the Lady Lions likely will miss Macciocco and Jarosz. For the Lady Lion seniors, this is shaping up to be the worst season record-wise they have been a part of at Penn State.

"We just have to fight, knowing that we have the Big Ten tournament and two home games left," Potthoff said. "I'll remember this year as the fighters. That's the thing that keeps us going."