My Opinion
Lady cagers’ press results in success

In women’s college basketball, as in life, there is a lot to be said for sticking to your guns.

Penn State women’s basketball coach Rene Portland did just that last week — and it will probably end up turning around the once-wayward season of the No. 17 Lady Lions.

With her team mired in a holiday-season slump and looking to get focused for a run at the big guns in the Big Ten, Portland unleashed a revamped and rejuvenated pressure defense that has given opposing offenses fits throughout the past week.

Want to know just how effective the press has been? Ask Michigan State coach Karen Langeland.

After trailing by just one point at halftime in their conference battle with the Lions last Monday, the Spartans' offense was devoured in the second half by the swarming Penn State defense. Michigan State shot 62 percent from the field in the first half. But with the Penn State press in full effect during the second half, Michigan State's offense was weaker than the January sun. The Spartans shot a mere 20 percent in that half.

Need more proof? Ask Michigan State guard Maxann Reese.

Reese, who came into that game averaging more than 17 points per game, seemed well on her way to that total after tallying 12 first-half points. But she was completely handcuffed in the second half.

Reese finished with 14 points and was rendered a non-factor when her team needed her most.

That win against the Spartans was an important one for the Lions, who snapped a four-game funk in which they won just one time -- an unacceptable total for a team expected to contend for a conference title.

Penn State has pressed on to win its last two games against conference foes, and the three-game win streak has put the Lions back amongst the top contenders for the Big Ten title.

Ironically, the very tactic that has contributed most to Penn State's resurgence was almost completely taken out of the team's game plan by Portland a week ago.

"I think at the beginning of the year, she wanted to trash it because it wasn't working," point guard Helen Darling said. "But she just stuck with it. It seemed to work. We played it well."

No, the Lions played it very well.

Basically, when Portland's "pressing group" enters the game, the fans can expect the tide of the game to change.

A trio of reserves -- forward Maren Walseth and guards Chrissy Falcone and Lisa Shepherd -- have acted as basketball's equivalent of hockey goons. Coming in together during the first half of last week's games with Michigan State and Iowa, Walseth, Falcone and Shepherd were tough, aggressive and relentless defenders. They were vital contributors in the Penn State defensive scheme that held Iowa to 42 percent and Michigan to 39 percent shooting last weekend.

This trio doesn't exactly hurt Portland's squad offensively, either.

Shepherd is second on the team in scoring behind center Andrea Garner, averaging 12.3 points a game. And even in a limited role, Walseth and Falcone have shown flashes of brilliance. Walseth scored 15 points in a win over Minnesota Jan. 3, and Falcone's three 3-pointers in the first half Sunday against Michigan helped Penn State build a lead it never lost.

Still, the most important roles of these players are on the defensive end. And when the starters begin to follow suit, a task it appears they are on their way to accomplishing, things will only get better.

"I think our press tonight worked well," Portland said after the Michigan State game. "We changed up our presses. We got some turnovers, we ate up the clock. I think there was some energy. Certainly, the presses worked and we rebounded a little better. But I do think the presses have been a factor for us."

Maybe Portland is buying into an old sports adage -- defense wins championships.