Lady cagers smothered by Purdue, Illinois

The Lady Lions needed a ray of hope yesterday after being disappointed 82-58 by No. 8 Illinois Friday.

When sophomore guard Helen Darling nailed a jumper with 18:45 left to play in the first half, the Penn State women's basketball team grabbed the lead from No. 24 Purdue, 2-0.

For a brief moment, it looked like everything would be okay.

The Boilermakers, however, responded with six unanswered points that would prove to be the game's turning point, if you could call it that. Led by junior guard Stephanie White's 28 points, Purdue never looked back as it held onto the lead for the rest of the game and grabbed an 88-71 win over Penn State at The Bryce Jordan Center.

White's 10 for 13 shooting was a reflection of the Boilermakers' (12-5, 5-2 Big Ten) accuracy yesterday. Shooting 60 percent from the field, they set a Jordan Center record. Shooting only 45 percent from the field themselves, the Lions (10-6, 4-3) just couldn't keep up.

Penn State coach Rene Portland said she was disappointed in her team's defense against Purdue as well as Illinois.

"They shot incredibly well," Portland said. "Two games in a row now our defense has really let us down. A week ago I was sitting here saying that was our mainstay, so that teaches you not to take anything for granted."

Portland said the Lions' defense didn't react well to the aggressive play of Purdue and Illinois.

"This is two games is a row that were real physical," she said. "I think our kids don't handle that well and they have to be able to handle it because you're going to have to be able to beat either of these two teams to win it all."

Trailing by 10 midway through the first half, Penn State got a break when the Boilermakers' second-leading scorer, guard Ukari Figgs, was benched after being whistled for her third foul. With Figgs off the floor, the Lions could concentrate on stopping White.

Much to Purdue coach Carolyn Peck's delight, the Lions' advantage was negated by the shooting of Boilermaker sophomore Tiffany Young. Young helped keep pressure off White by stepping up and scoring 12 of her 15 points in the last eight minutes of the half. With White and Young scoring almost at will from the field, Purdue saw its lead increase to 17 at the half.

"When I got out there I was a little winded," Young said, "but when I saw Ukari Figgs was in foul trouble I knew I had to step it up. Once I got going I was able to get into a flow and do some good things."

Behind a gritty performance by Penn State freshman Maren Walseth, the Lions rallied in several second half spurts, but never got closer than eleven. Walseth's career-high 24 points carried Penn State offensively, with the help of guard Jamie Parsons's 12 points.

"We were very fortunate to come out with a win," Peck said. "Penn State never stopped coming at us. They kept chopping and chopping."

White, Purdue's go-to player, helped keep Penn State and the lead well separated. With Figgs's time limited due to her foul trouble, White played the entire game and helped her team retain its cushy lead.

"Stephanie showed great leadership," Peck said. "She did a lot of things offensively and defensively. That's the kind of leadership she provides every night."

Penn State's performance Friday at Illinois was a good preview for what lay ahead against Purdue.

Placing six players in double figures, the Fighting Illini (13-4, 7-0) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and never looked back, eventually prevailing 82-58.

"I thought our team did exactly what it needed to do," Illinois coach Theresa Grentz said in a press release. "They played together and took care of business. We put six players in double figures and that shows our teamwork."

After falling behind 31-19 early on, the Lions rallied to within five points at the end of the first half. However, their shooting suddenly went cold as they shot just 24 percent from the floor in the second half. With Penn State trailing 50-44 with 12:29 left to play, Illinois launched a 9-0 run that put the game away.

The Illini were hot from the floor, shooting 50 percent to the Lions' 32 percent. Penn State struggled on the boards as well, being outrebounded 50-34 by an Illinois team that was playing without junior Alicia Sheeler, its top rebounder.

Parsons led the Lions with 14 points. Sophomore Tauja Catchings's 16 points topped Illinois' scorers.