The Penn State women's basketball team had been playing like an average team. However, facing a Michigan State squad without its leading scorer, the Lady Lions played far better than average.

The No. 19 Lions pummeled the Spartans, 97-49, extending their home winning streak to eight.

"I'm pleased with their effort," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said. "We did get scoring and playing time for a lot of people which was very important to us."

Penn State (14-6, 6-3 Big Ten) jumped out to a 12-0 lead five minutes into the game before allowing Michigan State to score a point.

Lions freshman Kelly Mazzante led all scorers with 28 points. She also added a career-high seven steals, eight rebounds and six assists. She converted 10 of her 23 field goal tries and six of her 12 tries from behind the three-point arc.

"I think a couple shots were a little crazy but I think I was open tonight," Mazzante said. "I've come off a couple of bad shooting nights and wanted to get back on track."

Mazzante's performance made an impression on Michigan State coach Joanne McCallie.

"She's just got an eye for that basket," McCallie said. 'She's got all the skills. I think she just has an air about her for a first-year that I think is pretty remarkable."

Six Lions, including all five starters, scored in double digits. And, all but two Lions, Ashley Luke and Courtney Upshaw, scored in the game.

The game also saw the return of Lions junior Katrena Carr to the starting lineup as she replaced an injured Luke. Luke, who saw eight minutes of action, suffered a broken finger in Thursday's game at Indiana and had to have a pin inserted in her finger.

Carr made the most of her opportunity, scoring 12 points and dishing out a career-high eight assists without committing a single turnover.

The Spartans (8-11, 2-6) struggled through the first half, trailing 45-18 at the break. They did rebound to score 31 second half points. However, despite being one of the top defenses in the conference, they could not stop Penn State's offensive machine, which shot 50 percent from the field.

"They've got a nice balanced team," McCallie said. "There's a lot of weapons, that's a very talented team."