After honoring the coach, No. 21 Penn State promptly told Perrelli and his players to get out of dodge and not come back anytime soon, retiring the Wildcats, 93-60 last night at The Bryce Jordan Center.

Marked by a potent offensive attack, crisp passing, good shot selection and staunch defense, the Lions methodically shut down Northwestern (8-11, 2-7 Big Ten). The game was perhaps Penn State's (14-5, 6-3 Big Ten) most balanced of the season.

"I'm pleased," Portland said.

"We got a lot of input from a lot of people."

To say the least.

With the exception of forward Christine Portland, who left early with a head injury, every Lion made a mark on the score sheet, and six players went into double digits. The Penn State defensive effort was equally impressive, permitting only five of 11 Wildcats to score, and jacking 23 turnovers.

"I consider Penn State to be a great basketball team," Perrelli said.

"They gave us a lot of problems, inside and out."

The problems had names -- inside it was Clara Carter, outside it was Lisa Shepherd.

Carter, who had struggled earlier in the season, has been on fire of late. She propelled the Lions to an early lead, tearing off 11 quick points and four rebounds, before resting a sore ankle through most of the second half. Carter finished with 13 points.

"Clara has been more than solid lately," Portland said. "She's a very focused kid right now and deserves to be written about."

Shepherd, making her second consecutive start, was AWOL in the first half, going 0-for-4 from the field. Not wanting to rehash a 0-for-10 early season nightmare against Ohio State, the sophomore settled in the second half and did her best imitation of fellow Hoosier-state native Larry Bird, burying five of seven 3-pointers -- tying a Jordan Center record -- and finishing with 17 points.

Shawnta Vanzant and Chrissy Falcone also connected from way behind the arc, and the team's seven 3-pointers also tied a Jordan Center record, and sent fans holding ticket stubs home with a host of promotional goods.

Helen Darling summed up the recent surge of the Lions as a 'just win baby' attitude.

"We're really coming together," Darling said.

"We're saying we've got to win. We all have the will to win, and want to win so bad."

Portland has a simple answer for her team's recent jelling.

"It's time," Portland said.

"They've been together now for a while and know where each other are. They're taking the right shots, not bad shots."

With more than half of their Big Ten schedule in the books, and the postseason looming, it seems that the Lions are 'getting to know' each other at just the right time.