Lady cagers, Indiana battle for berth in NIT finals


Friday, March 20, 1998	Lady cagers, Indiana battle for berth in NIT finals By CHRIS MASSE Collegian Sports Writer Two weeks ago on "Selection Sunday" Penn State and Indiana women's basketball players anxiously waited to find out whether they would get the opportunity to play for a national championship in the NCAA Tournament. Both teams were disappointed.
`Penn State Women's Basketball Home Page`	Despite solid credentials -- Penn State reached the Big Ten Tournament finals while Indiana won 19 games and finished tied for third in the Big Ten -- neither team impressed the selection committee enough to earn a spot in the Big Dance. At 7:30 tonight in The Bryce Jordan Center Penn State (19-13) and Indiana will take out their frustration on each other when they battle in the WNIT semifinals. The winner will play for the championship Tuesday night at the school with the largest home attendance in the semifinals. This will be the third time the Lady Lions and Hoosiers (21-11) have met this season. They split the regular season series with the home team winning each contest. Indiana took the last game 58-55 a month ago in Bloomington.
Lady Lion guard Helen Darling prepares to drive to the hoop in a game against Ohio State earlier this season. Penn State will try to advance to the WNIT Finals with a win against conference foe Indiana tonight at the Bryce Jordan Center. (Collegian Photo/Christopher M. Mortensen - click for full size image)	"It's going to be a hard-fought game," Indiana coach Jim Izard said. "Penn State is a solid team that has done well down the stretch. Whoever executes the best will win." The Hoosiers come into tonight's game having won four of their last five, including a dramatic 61-60 victory last Sunday against Toledo in the quarterfinals. All-Big Ten center Quacy Barnes leads the Indiana attack averaging 18 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She is complemented by point guard Kristi Green who pours in 11 points per game. Barnes' inside presence helps open up the outside for the Hoosiers' dangerous 3-point shooters. Indiana led the Big Ten in 3-point baskets and features four players who have nailed 25 or more treys. "They're shooting the ball extremely well," said Penn State coach Rene Portland, who could win her 500th game tonight. "Green creates a lot of things with her 3-point shooting." Penn State should be able to slow Indiana down if it plays defense the way it did in January when it defeated the Hoosiers 75-62. The Lions forced 30 Indiana turnovers in that game and held them to 39 percent shooting from the field.
Freshman guard Lisa Shepard dribbles past an Ohio State defender in a game early this season. Shepard and the Lady Lions look to continue their impressive postseason run in tonight's WNIT semifinal against Indiana. (Collegian Photo/Christopher M. Mortensen - click for full size image)	"We know we can beat them," Penn State guard Christine Portland said, "because we played well when we played them here." The Lions have reason to be confident. They have won five of their last six games and are playing their best basketball of the season. Penn State has also showed a lot of depth and received solid contributions from a variety of players during its postseason run. Especially impressive has been the play of Helen Darling. The sophomore point guard gave Villanova and St. Joseph's fits throughout the first two rounds of the WNIT, averaging 20.5 points per game. When she was not putting points on the board Darling was making her presence felt on defense, racking up seven steals. "These last two games (Darling) was very important to us," Portland said. "Offensively she's making some great decisions for us."
`Indiana Women's Basketball Home Page`	Although Darling and the Lions have been playing well, the coaching staff is making sure they do not lose their focus and take Indiana lightly. Looking past the Hoosiers could bring Penn State's tournament run to a screeching halt. "We have to understand the stakes of this game," Portland said. "We can't get complacent. It's one and you're done."