For the second straight game the Penn State Lady Lions entered a hostile Big Ten environment versus a team with nothing to lose and came away victorious.

The No. 16 Lions (17-6, 9-3 Big Ten) struggled to fend off the determined Michigan State Spartans (8-14, 2-9) throughout last night's contest but would emerge with the 64-58 win.

Penn State forward Maren Walseth paced the team with 26 points on an impressive 11-13 shooting performance and added 4 rebounds to her total. Kelly Mazzante contributed 15 points despite a disappointing 5-16 from the floor and only two points in the second half.

Michigan State's leading scorer Becky Cummings made her return to the court after suffering a foot injury a month ago and led the Spartans with 12 points off the bench. She did not play in the last meeting two weeks ago in the Bryce Jordan Center.

"I thought we played very well tonight," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "It's tough to play when you're not the underdog on the road. We can't let people think they're going to win."

The entire game was a seesaw battle with both teams trading leads until the closing minutes. With 4:15 left in the second half Michigan State knotted the score at 52-52 with a three-point shot by Vnemina Reese. The Lions would answer with a quick inbound pass from Mazzante to Rashana Barnes for two of her 10 points.

Penn State continued to out-hustle the Spartans to the ball and sent players to the foul line. Lisa Shepherd made two crucial foul shots with 3 minutes remaining which would turn out to be the only two points she would score all game.

In the last three minutes Walseth took over the Lion offense with soft bank shots off the glass over Michigan State players. She would go on to finish with 19 points in the second half.

Two trips to the foul line by Ashley Luke and Mazzante in the last minute finished off any hope of a Spartan win in East Lansing. However, the game was far from perfect for Penn State.

Portland received her first technical foul of the year at the 15:48 mark of the first half after arguing with officials when Shepherd was apparently fouled by Michigan State forward Abby Salscheider allowing the Spartans to tie the game at 24-24.

The Lions finished shooting 41-percent and an abysmal 4-15 from three-point land. Michigan State did not fare much better shooting 43-percent from the field and 4-14 beyond the arc.

The Spartans' offense may have been stifled on the court with a swarming full-court press and man-to-man coverage all game by Penn State causing 15 turnovers but only four in the second half.

"We knew we could not run with Penn State, so we needed to control the tempo of the game," Michigan State coach Joanne McCallie said. "We would rather have a shot clock violation than turn the ball over by trying to run."

Another key to the Lions' win was the foul-shooting performance by the entire team. Penn State finished 18-21 from the line while the Spartans struggled making only 8-15.

"Our free throws in the first half made a big difference in the game," Portland said.