Garner makes statement against Spartans, Badgers

With the Penn State women's basketball team on a four-game skid and none of the Lady Lions seeming to emerge as go-to players, someone had to step up last weekend.

Andrea Garner knew it was time to make a statement.

And make a statement she did. The sophomore center scored a career-high 27 points Friday in the Lions' win at Michigan State. Sunday at Wisconsin, she recorded her 10th double-double of the year as she posted a team-high 21 points and 14 rebounds.

After putting her team up 22-10 off a long pass from guard Helen Darling, Garner was actually yelling and kicking her legs.

"I made a statement to the team that I was going to play hard every game," Garner, commonly known as Dre to the team, said. "It just felt good to come out and be on top of things in the beginning and not have to work twice as hard in the end."

Penn State coach Rene Portland was happy with Garner's performance against the Spartans and attributed part of it to her teammates.

"I was very excited that Dre stepped up," Portland said. "I thought our high-low post passing combinations were terrific tonight."

The Lions have been searching for a true go-to player since the graduation of All-Big Ten forward Angie Potthoff last year. Throughout the course of the season, Garner has seemed more ready than any of her teammates to emerge as that player.

In addition to leading the team with 13.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, Garner has had strong performances against some of the Big Ten's best centers. During a two-game stretch in January, she scored 25 and 22 points against Michigan's Pollyanna Johns and Indiana's Quacy Barnes, respectively.

However, fine performances such as those have been overshadowed by a handful of poor showings. Garner seems to play worse in big games, averaging 9.2 points against elite conference teams Illinois, Iowa and Purdue.

One of the functions of a go-to player is possessing the ability to step up when the team needs points. Garner performed this function against Michigan State, scoring clutch baskets whenever the Spartans began to rally.

Garner again started slowly early on Sunday against Wisconsin. Her two points in the first 15 minutes of play were reflected on the scoreboard, as the Lions fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half.

In the second half, though, Garner displayed her value to her team. She led Penn State's comeback attempt, scoring 13 points in the half as the Lions cut the deficit to as close as five points.

The second half of the Wisconsin game was the reflection of a common theme for the Penn State all season -- when Garner produces so do the Lions. Penn State is 5-1 when she scores over 20 points.

Garner seems to have made her case as the team's go-to player.