Lisa Shepherd and the rest of the Penn State women's basketball team have been struggling on the road, so it should come as little surprise that Indiana's 1997 Miss Basketball would be glad to go home.

The senior guard from Richmond scored 20 points in her final homecoming performance as the No. 19 Lady Lions (13-6, 5-3 Big Ten) finally picked up a road win, defeating Indiana 79-70 last night at Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers (13-6, 4-4) led early, but just as they did in their first meeting with Penn State this season, got into first-half foul trouble, and could get no closer than within three points in the second half.

Rainey Alting led Indiana with 20 points while Heather Cassady added 19.

"In the first half we had a lot of good looks at the basket, but we didn't connect on them," Cassady said in a press release.

Senior Maren Walseth had a big game for the Lions, scoring 17 points and adding 14 rebounds.

Freshman Kelly Mazzante scored all 14 of her points in the second half, while the Penn State defense held Indiana leading scorer Jill Chapman to 10 points, nine less than she had against the Lions two weeks ago.

"Tonight had little bit of everything," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said in a radio interview after the game.

"We had great post play, and the seniors really stepped up."

Shepherd, whose offensive production had been down during the Lions' recent slide due in part to an injured right hand, scored 12 points and was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line in the first half as she played inspired basketball in front of her parents and friends.

"It's always important for us to win for whoever lives where we're playing," Portland said.

In each of its past three road losses (to Illinois, Michigan and Iowa) Penn State had been hampered by turnovers and a lack of rebounding.

Last night, however, the Lions held a commanding 49-35 edge on the boards, and point guards Ashley Luke and Katrena Carr committed just three turnovers. Penn State also out-shot the Hoosiers 45 percent to 37 percent.

"We didn't shoot well this game," Indiana women's basketball coach Kathi Bennett said in a press release, a reference to the 16 first-half points the Hoosiers put on the board in the first meeting. "But compared to the game at Penn State, it was night and day."

The victory was a huge one for the Lions, who are scratching and clawing for more favorable seeding in next month's Big Ten tournament.

"The kids could only control the things they could control," said Portland, who passed preliminary copies of the tournament bracket out to her players before the game. "They had the right to be apprehensive."

Penn State will head home this weekend to play host to Michigan State. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at The Bryce Jordan Center.

The Spartans (8-10, 2-5) and first-year head coach Joanne McCallie are coming off a 58-49 loss last night against the Michigan Wolverines, and have dropped their last four contests.

Sophomore guard Vnemina Reese will lead the Michigan State against the Lions, while senior forward Becky Cummings is questionable for Sunday's game as she continues to nurse a foot injury.