Monday, Jan. 19, 1998
Walseth provides Lady Lions with lone source of light
Looking for bright spots after a 16-point loss to a Big Ten rival
can be like walking in the dark without a flash light.
After the Penn State women's basketball team was thumped yesterday
88-71 by No. 24 Purdue at The Bryce Jordan Center, though, the
play of one Lady Lion shined amidst the carnage. Freshman Maren
Walseth stepped forward to lead Penn State (10-6, 4-3 Big Ten)
with a career-high 24 points and give the Lions something positive
to build on.
Purdue built an early 19-7 lead and threatened to blow Penn State out of its own building. But Walseth made sure that did not happen. The freshman forward came off the bench and almost single-handedly kept Penn State within striking distance. Every time the Boilermakers (12-5, 5-2) appeared ready to finish off the Lions, Walseth brought Penn State back with her soft jump shot and tenacious play under the basket.
Chris Masse (cmm210@psu.edu) is a junior majoring in journalism and a Collegian women's basketball writer.
"Walseth is a good player. She moves well and has a nice
touch around the basket," Purdue coach Carolyn Peck said.
"Our post players got an education today."
Had it not been for Walseth's inspired play, the game would have
been decided at halftime. Facing an early double-digit deficit,
Walseth put the Lions on her back and gave Penn State hope for
a dramatic comeback. During one stretch the freshman phenom scored
nine of Penn State's 11 points. She ended the first half with
15 points -- more than the rest of her team combined.
Usually brought in as a defensive stopper, the Bloomington, Minn., native proved she has the potential to be an offensive force by making nine of 13 shots from the field and getting to the foul line 11 times. Walseth's strong moves to the basket, coupled with hot shooting gave Purdue fits and forced the Boilermakers into early foul trouble.
Lady Lion Maren Walseth elevates above Purdue guard Stephanie White. Walseth scored 24 points in Penn State's 88-71 loss to the Boilermakers on Sunday. (Collegian Photo/Alex de Jesus - click for full size image)
More impressive than Walseth's statistics, however, was her effort.
Despite facing a double-digit deficit against the defending Big
Ten champions, she showed tremendous resolve in the face of adversity.
Walseth helped ignite a sluggish Lion team by constantly sacrificing
her body to try to come up with loose balls and rebounds.
On one occasion midway through the first half, Walseth was thrown
into the sidelines behind the Lions' basket. Although no foul
was called, the young post player picked herself up, hustled back
on defense and scored the next time down the court.
"I'm thrilled with Maren's performance. She's playing with
a lot of heart and pride," Lion coach Rene Portland said.
"She doesn't care about her statistics. She is just disappointed
that we lost. We need more players like that."
It would be easy to excuse a freshman for not displaying the attitude
of a seasoned veteran during her rookie season. Walseth, though,
does not play or act like a freshman. Despite her monstrous effort
she was not happy with her game and did not hesitate to heap criticism
upon herself.
"I didn't rebound or play defense like I should have,"
Walseth said. "I can take some positives out of this, but
it doesn't really matter since we lost."
Although her efforts were not enough to overcome a seasoned Purdue team, Walseth has given Penn State reason to be optimistic. With four years of basketball still ahead of her, the freshman forward has made sure the sun will be shining on the Lions for a long time.
