Second wind


Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1998	Second wind Lady cagers back on winning track with weekend sweep By CHRIS MASSE Collegian Sports Writer Beating two Big Ten teams with a combined conference record of 5-13 may not be reason for raucous celebration but the importance of the Lady Lion basketball team's weekend sweep of Minnesota and Ohio State should not be underestimated. Both wins laid to rest the memory of an ugly three-game losing streak that threatened to ruin Penn State's season. More importantly, though, they put the Lions (12-7, 6-3 Big Ten) back in the thick of the Big Ten title race. "We had three tough losses, but this was our comeback weekend," senior forward Em Clements said. "This measures what type of team we are." The Lions comeback effort moved them into a third-place tie in the conference with No. 23 Purdue. With a little more than a month remaining in the season Penn State finds itself only one game behind second-place Iowa, and two games behind front-runner No. 6 Illinois. The Lions could cut in half the two-game deficit with the Illini when they battle them Sunday at The Bryce Jordan Center.
Lady Lion guard Helen Darling drives the ball down the court past Ohio State player Jamie Lewis in last weekend's win against the Buckeyes. The victories against Ohio State and Illinois halted a three-game skid. (Collegian Photo/Andrea Elizabeth Kohler - click for full size image)	Penn State's finds itself in a better situation now than they were last season at this time. After 19 games a year ago, the Lions stood at 4-5 in the Big Ten and were struggling to move up. To make matters worse, the team had lost eight of the final 11 games. "We're way ahead of where we were last year at this time," coach Rene Portland said. "This week, being at home will really help us get back in a routine and that routine will really help us." If the Lions do vault past Iowa and Illinois into the Big Ten lead they may look at the Ohio State game as the turning point of the season. Penn State jumped all over the Buckeyes, racing to an early 19-7 lead. Ohio State forwards Larecha Jones and Marrita Porter, though, took charge and gave the Buckeyes the lead with slightly more than three minutes remaining in the game. With Penn State's Big Ten title hopes fading, though, freshman guard Lisa Shepherd stepped forward and rallied the Lions with clutch foul shooting to force overtime. Once there, Helen Darling, Jamie Parsons and Clara Carter teamed up to throttle the Buckeyes with tenacious defense and solid shooting.
*"We had three tough losses, but this was our comeback weekend."* - Em Clements, Lady Lion forward	"I had to focus on our goal. My teammates were counting on me," said Carter, who played despite suffering an eye injury last Wednesday against No. 4 Louisiana Tech. "We had to pick up our defense and concentrate on getting the lead." Sunday's defeat of the Buckeyes marked the fifth game Penn State played in 10 days. Despite the constant travel, though, the Lions found enough energy to place five scorers in double digits. Center Andrea Garner led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds and was aided by Clements' 6 for 7 shooting effort. "We still have things to work on, but we pulled together when we needed to," Clements said. "This is our comeback year and this was our comeback game."

Second wind

Lady cagers back on winning track with weekend sweep