For whom the bell tolls

Boilermakers halt lady cagers’ Big Ten Cinderella run

INDIANAPOLIS -- The clock finally struck midnight for the Lady Lion basketball team last night in the RCA Dome.

After playing textbook basketball for three days, Penn State reverted back to the team that lost five of its last six regular season games, and dropped the Big Ten Championship to Purdue 59-49.

The Lions came into the contest averaging 86 points per game, but struggled the entire night to put points on the board against Purdue's swarming zone defense. The Boilermakers forced 13 first half turnovers and held Penn State to 21 first half points as they built a 14-point halftime cushion.

"We knew that they had a strong post game and good outside shooters and I felt that was a good way to start to contain," Purdue coach Carolyn Peck said. "It was a good way to get control and then go from there."

Purdue's stifling defense prevented Penn State from getting off to a good start for the first time in the tournament. After Jamie Parsons hit a driving layup eight minutes into the game, the Lions went ice cold and failed to score for more than seven minutes. During that time Purdue went on an 11-0 run and built a 14-point advantage. Penn State was its own worst enemy during the Boilermakers' spurt, turning the ball over five times.

"Purdue did a terrific job of shutting down our offense," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "They caused a lot of turnovers and we just couldn't score."

Tournament Most Valuable Player Andrea Garner tried to ignite a second-half comeback, scoring 10 of her game-high 19 points in the second stanza. Twice she pulled the Lions within 11 points, but each time the Boilermakers responded and drove a knife through the heart of the Lions.

With Penn State rallying late in the game, Purdue put the game away with its offensive rebounding. Twice the Boilermakers missed the front end of one-and-one foul shots and twice they grabbed the offensive board and converted it into points. When Ukari Figgs turned the second one into a three-point play to push the lead to 17 at the five-minute mark the competitive stage of the game was over.

In addition to winning the battle of the boards, Purdue also beat the Lions in bench scoring 17-5. Lion freshman forward Maren Walseth was the only reserve to connect from the field. To make matters worse, Penn State's second leading scorer Lisa Shepherd missed all five of her shots and was held scoreless for the first time this season.

Despite the loss, Penn State assured themselves of a trip to the NIT Tournament. There strong showing in the tournament also gives the Lions an outside shot of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Penn State will find out which tournament it will be on Sunday evening.

Although upset about falling one win short of a Big Ten crown, the Lions were happy with what they accomplished during the tournament.

"I'm very disappointed, but we can only take positives out of this," Garner said. "We showed a lot of people we're capable of beating any team in the Big Ten."