After trailing Purdue, 36-35, at halftime, Penn State rallied to lead by as many as eight points, 56-48, with 8:33 to play in the second half.

Undaunted by Penn State's upset bid, Purdue (23-1, 14-0 Big Ten) overcame a 64-59 Lion lead with less than two minutes left, tying the game with three seconds showing on the clock on a jumper in the lane by guard Katie Douglas.

While her teammates -- guards Stephanie White-McCarty and Ukari Figgs -- received most of the pregame publicity, it was Douglas who ended up deciding the game in overtime. The sophomore scored the final two of her 21 points on another jumper to put Purdue ahead to stay.

Penn State had one final chance, but Penn State guard Helen Darling's bounce pass intended for center Andrea Garner was batted away as time expired without a final shot attempt by the Lions.

"This was a great game for women's basketball," Purdue coach Carolyn Peck said. "There' a one-point difference in the first half. There's a zero-point difference in the second half. And overtime, there's a two-point difference. I'm talking neck-and-neck the whole way."

Playing with a heavy heart, Figgs, whose grandmother passed away Wednesday, also poured in 21 points -- 14 of which came before the half. White-McCarty scored four of her 17 points in the crucial overtime period.

Darling and Garner put up some impressive numbers of their own in defeat. Both players posted double-doubles -- Darling with 12 points and 10 assists, Garner with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

That success, however, was dwarfed by the disappointment of losing a game Penn State had every opportunity to put away, but never did.

Despite being distraught about her team's defense against Douglas in overtime, Penn State coach Rene

Portland said she hopes her team can turn the negatives from this bitter defeat into positives for a potential third battle with the Boilermakers in the Big Ten Tournament at the end of the month.

"We made mental mistakes," Portland said. "We let Douglas go left, and that's the only arm she has on her body. We didn't play a very good basketball game, and we were still in the game. So that's where you can get your hope from."

Against the outgunned Gophers, it seemed as if the Lions were still struggling with the Purdue loss, holding a slight 35-28 edge. But as has been the pattern this season, when the Lions slump in the first half, they tend to control the second.

Penn State rebounded from their sub-par first half with a 53-point onslaught in the second. Garner recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and senior forward Clara Carter celebrated Senior Day in style, posting 11 points and 14 rebounds.

It was a special win for the Lions. Not only did it clinch no worse than a No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the Lions, but it helped take away the sting from the heartbreak against Purdue.

"Friday was a hard loss," Garner said, "but we knew we had to get over it. We had to get our minds straight and come out hard today."