Lady cager Falcone sees limited time on the court

Before the season began, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland talked about her dream of seeing Helen Darling and Chrissy Falcone playing together in the same backcourt.

With only four regular season games remaining, it looks like Portland may have to wait awhile to see her dream come true. While Darling has started every game at point guard, Falcone has seen little playing time.

Falcone spent the first half of the season getting back into prime basketball condition after missing her senior season in high school and her freshman campaign at Penn State with torn anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Portland tried to ease Falcone back into the lineup, giving her a few minutes each game. In November against Quinnipiac, Falcone played 21 minutes and scored 18 points.

Although Falcone could light a spark on offense, Portland said she cannot afford to play the redshirt freshman more until her defense improves.

"Chrissy could really help us offensively, but defensively that's really a point of emphasis of why I can't get her more playing time," Portland said. "A perfect example is against Northwestern she let a kid go right down the middle and Jamie (Parsons) had to go help. Jamie picked up her second foul and now I've got a starter sitting on the bench for the rest of the second half."

Despite making 3-point shooting a high priority this past offseason, Penn State ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten in that category. Only Iowa and Ohio State have made fewer 3-pointers than the Lady Lions. Prior to last Sunday's game with Indiana, Penn State had only converted two of its last 21 3-point attempts.

Against Indiana, though, the Lions started to break out of their slump, connecting on 6 of 12 attempts. Freshman Lisa Shepherd led the resurgence and drained four treys. Shepherd leads the Lions in 3-point accuracy but had been mired in a four-game drought before unloading on the Hoosiers.

Portland thinks a week at home should help the Lions continue to improve their outside shooting.

"I attribute (the slump) a lot to being on the road as much as we were. The kids need to get in the gym," Portland said. "Two or three days is not going to correct things. It's an everyday thing. It's not like we weren't good shooters. We were good shooters, but it's just a matter of getting back in the gym and staying on top of it."

Friday against Michigan, captains Jamie Parsons and Em Clements will play in their final game at The Bryce Jordan Center. Both players will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.

Portland has praised Parsons and Clements throughout the season, calling them the best captains the Lions have had in recent years. Both players have helped Penn State exceed preseason expectations and climb to fourth in the Big Ten.

While Clements has only spent two years at Penn State after transferring from Central Florida Community College, Parsons has been with the Lions for all four years. During that time she has gained the reputation of being one of the Big Ten's best defenders.

"I remember people telling me that the time would fly by," Parsons said. "There was no way I ever thought it would, but it certainly has. Now I'm looking at things from a different perspective."