Burnt by Berggren

Illinois guard torches Lady cagers in 78-69 victory

Illinois dealt another blow yesterday to the young Penn State women's basketball team's attempt to gain respect.

The No. 8 Illini held off a spirited second-half run by the Lady Lions to capture a 78-69 win at The Bryce Jordan Center. Although this was a more competitive game than Illinois' 24-point rout in the last meeting between the two teams, the result was the same -- a Penn State failure to make a jump in the conference standings.

Lion coach Rene Portland said her team has to challenge itself to beat Illinois, Purdue and Iowa, the only Big Ten teams to beat Penn State (13-8, 7-4 Big Ten) this season.

"We're doing a real good job handling the teams below us," Portland said. "The only ones that have been able to get us are supposedly the better three in the league."

The Illini (15-6, 9-2) forced an aggressive, fast-paced tempo to take an early lead. The Lions stayed close at the onset, tying it 15-15 on Christine Portland's jumper about seven minutes into the game. However, Illinois then went on an 8-1 run to capture a lead it would hold for the duration of the game.

Capitalizing on their 63 percent first-half shooting and Penn State's mistakes, the Illini extended their lead to 17 at the half. Overall, Illinois' 61 percent shooting for the game set a Jordan Center record.

"We really had a tough night playing defensive transition and I think it was a tough night for our guards," Portland said. "In the first half we just weren't feisty enough to get the job done."

The pace of the game was influenced by Illinois' change to a three-guard lineup. Following her team's loss to Iowa Friday, Illini coach Theresa Grentz wanted to give her players a change.

"I thought that that was very helpful to us today," Grentz said. "I think sometimes a change is as good as a rest."

The Lions fought back in the second half. They continuously gnawed at Illinois' lead. However, behind senior Ashley Berggren, the Illini never allowed Penn State to get closer than seven.

Berggren stopped nearly all of Penn State's late surges. Her two made free throws with seven minutes to play ended a 6-0 Lion run that had brought them to within seven of the lead.

The Illini guard led all scorers with 31 points. She was 12 of 14 from the field and a perfect 7 of 7 from the line.

"When you allow one player, like we've been doing all year, to come in and score almost half their points -- we obviously don't have an answer for that and I don't know where we're going to find an answer for that," Portland said.

Friday at Northwestern, Penn State was also blitzed by one player. Unlike Sunday, though, it managed to pull out a win.

Wildcat forward Kristina Divjak poured in 29 points, but it wasn't enough as the Lions rallied for a 77-70 win in Evanston, Ill. Northwestern (6-16, 1-9) led by as many as 10 in the second half before surrendering the lead for good with about five minutes to play.

Fouls were a big stumbling block for the Wildcats. The Lions went to the line 41 times as four of Northwestern's starters, including Divjak, fouled out.

In her first start, Lion junior Clara Carter scored a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Helen Darling added 17 for Penn State.

The Lions have a week off to prepare for their next game -- 2 p.m. Sunday at Indiana.