Yesterday afternoon, the scoreboard at the Bryce Jordan Center was lowered for a light replacement, but maintenance crews had difficulty raising the massive fixture back into place.

A few hours later, the scoreboard had not only been put back up, it had been lit up.

The Penn State women's basketball team opened its 2000-01 exhibition season last night by blowing out LKKA (Lithuania) Kaunas, 106-40.

Rashanna Barnes led five Lady Lions in double figures, as the junior forward scored 24 points on 9-15 shooting in her new role as a starter. Junior guard Katrena Carr tallied 11 points, senior forward Maren Walseth added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman Kelly Mazzante chipped in with 15 points off the bench. Last night's game marked the Jordan Center debuts of Mazzante and fellow freshmen Courtney Upshaw (nine points), Jessica Brungo (eight points) and Jacquelynn Shook (six points and eight rebounds).

"We did a really good job of running our plays," said senior co-captain Lisa Shepherd. "We've really been focusing on studying our playbooks, and I think the newcomers did a really good job."

The tendency for many freshmen is not to shoot, for fear of being pulled by the coach. Mazzante showed last night that she will not hesitate to pull the trigger this season, as she launched a game-high eight three-point shots in the first half. She connected on three of them, though, helping the Lady Lions jump out to a 55-25 halftime advantage.

"I was a little less nervous than I thought," she said. "Once I ran down the court one time, I got rid of all my jitters."

Mazzante credited the team veterans with helping the freshmen make the adjustment to their first collegiate contest, even if the Lady Lions weren't exactly facing Purdue. LKKA Kaunas, who made State College the first stop of its rigorous nine-game, eleven-day tour through the United States, was plagued by a .250 field-goal percentage and a crushing total of 33 personal fouls.

The Lions got off to a sluggish start themselves, but got plenty of transition buckets in the first half, as forwards Barnes and Walseth ran the floor well. Penn State slowed the tempo in the second half and, behind the steady play of point guard Ashley Luke, ran its half-court offense very effectively.

Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said the change in style of play was a deliberate one.

"We wanted to get film on more things so we could be careful of our spacing," she said. "We also wanted to give Jess Brungo, who picked up two quick fouls, more time, and give our two post players (Barnes and Walseth) more time, so we had to slow it down for them."

Because of Helen Darling's graduation, someone other than last year's Big Ten Player of the Year will run the offense for the first time in three years. That someone comes in the person of Luke, who made several pinpoint passes last night, including a behind-the-back feed to Barnes that led to an easy lay-up.

"I feel one hundred percent more comfortable just knowing I'm the main person out there," said the sophomore, who is one of three new starters in the revamped Penn State lineup.

"I was very pleased with her running the team," Portland said.

Like their new point guard, the Lady Lions are off and running this year. Hopefully the scoreboard will be able to keep up.