Lady cagers show heart in Valentine's Day victory

By DAN GIGLER
Collegian Staff Writer

Hearts abounded in The Bryce Jordan Center yesterday.

Hearts on sweatshirts, a heart pin on Rene Portland's lapel, a Cupid-esque Nittany Lion (complete with wings) shooting hearts into the crowd. However, the biggest heart of all was found on the basketball court, and it was blue and white, not red.

After suffering a physically exhausting, emotionally draining, last-second, overtime loss in a Friday night war with No. 2 Purdue (23-1, 14-0 Big Ten), the members of the No. 15 Penn State women's basketball team (19-6, 11-4) had only one day to clear their heads and recuperate their bodies before hitting the hardwood to go to battle again.

Already spent from the toll taken by the lengthy 1998-99 season, and having played 45 minutes of superb, scrappy basketball only to lose, the Lady Lions could have easily come out stagnant against Minnesota yesterday.

Instead, they summoned the strength of their collective heart and treated the Golden Gophers to their own personal St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

Penn State did to the Gophers yesterday what the gopher did to Karl Spackler in "Caddyshack" -- drove them nuts, wore them down, and destroyed them, 88-56. Clara Carter grabbed 14 rebounds in her final regular season game at the Jordan Center and Andrea Garner led the scoring with 23 points. The victory was a well-balanced effort in which every Lion graced the court and scored some points.

Garner explained the Lions' mission in drubbing the Gophers: "Friday night was a real disappointment," she said. "We had to get our minds straight."

They must be straight as arrows. The Lions commanded the game from the opening tip until the final buzzer, not backing down from the Gophers' physical play while out-finessing them at all times yesterday.

Coach Rene Portland was pleased with her team's ability to respond after a bitter disappointment.

"They showed a lot of character," Portland said. "When you lose a close game that you wanted really bad, you have to remember who you are and what you're trying to accomplish and focus on the big picture."

The Lions now have a rare opportunity to rest as the regular season winds down. They will take two days off before resuming their preparation for their final regular season game, 2 p.m. Sunday at Ohio State.