Beware of the team with nothing to lose.

Big Ten doormat Northwestern hosted No. 15 Penn State yesterday at Evanston's Welsh-Ryan Arena and gave the Lady Lions all they could handle, nearly pulling off what would have been its biggest win of the season.

When the dust had settled, however, it was the Lions who came out on top, defeating the Wildcats 65-62 to win their fourth straight game.

Kelly Mazzante's layup put Penn State (16-6, 8-3 Big Ten) up 63-62 with 21 seconds remaining. The Wildcats (4-17, 0-11) still had an opportunity to go ahead, but Emily Butler, who led Northwestern with 22 points, lost the handle at midcourt, leading to a jump ball. The possession arrow went to Penn State, and Lisa Shepherd sunk two foul shots to seal the outcome.

"We were out-hustled tonight," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland told WRSC Radio. "We were fortunate to come out with the win."

Northwestern shot 51 percent from the floor and displayed a pesky defense, becoming only the third team to hold the Lions to 65 or fewer points this season. The other two teams to accomplish that defeated Penn State, and for most of the game, it looked as though the Wildcats would as well.

"We weren't strong with the ball. The weight room back home will be a welcome sight," Portland said. "You have to give them credit though."

The Wildcats would not go down easy, but were unable to do what seemingly no other team has been able to do this season — shut down Mazzante. The conference-leading freshman netted 23 points, nine of those in the first half when Penn State shot just 35 percent and managed only 25 points.

Northwestern would not go away in the second half, but the differences in the game were turnover margin and performance at the charity stripe. The Wildcats committed 26 turnovers to the Lions' 19 and Penn State was 23-31 at the free throw line, compared to 5-14 for Northwestern.

"Going down the stretch we made our foul shots," Portland said. "We were fortunate they fouled us so much."

Maren Walseth and Rashana Barnes each scored 10 points for the Lions, who continued their mastery of the Wildcats. Penn State has won 16 of the 20 games in the series, including the last eight.