If you were looking for something suspenseful -- like a close basketball game -- hopefully you avoided The Bryce Jordan Center last night.

While trouncing Northwestern 84-49, the Penn State women's basketball team prepared itself for the biggest game of its season so far, with Wisconsin coming to town Sunday.

The matchup receives added emphasis due to eighth-ranked Wisconsin's overtime loss at Indiana last night, breaking the Big Ten race wide open.

"Now Wisconsin has two losses and we only have three, but you have to look at it in a different perspective," said Penn State guard Kelly Mazzante, who led all scorers versus the Wildcats with 24. "We have to protect the Jordan Center."

Mazzante's coach, Rene Portland, agreed with her star player.

"It's a game where you get real excited to play," Portland said. "If we get this kind of balance and we have this attack (we can win). . .we worked hard to get back on track defending the Jordan Center and that's a real big thing for us."

The Lady Lions only had to work hard for the first 25 minutes last night, by which time Penn State had opened up a 20-point gap.

A big factor in that success was Penn State's renewed transition game, something Portland said her team stressed all week in practice. The primary benefactors of this fun-and-gun style of play were Mazzante and fellow guard Tanisha Wright, who dropped 14.

"They're shooting a lot of threes so we have to certainly defend the three," Portland said.

"They have a very nice high-low game so our post players are very, very important to us, but I think we can run."

The Lions intend to use that running attack to neutralize Wisconsin's big three of guards Tamara Moore and Kyle Black and forward Jessie Stomski who are averaging 66 percent of the Badgers points this season.

Play by Penn State forward Courtney Upshaw, who notched a career high 18 points last night, was a good tune-up for Stomski.

She currently ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring.

Still, the Lions will have to get better output defensively from their frontcourt by committee if they want to pull even in the Big Ten conference standings.

Something that may also prove helpful Sunday was the unusual amount of rest given to Penn State's go to players.

Especially the oft-fouled Mazzante and forward Rashana Barnes, who has been battling bad knees throughout the season.

Neither played more than 25 minutes against Northwestern, with no Lion exceeding point guard Jess Strom's 29.

"We had a bulls-eye offensively and defensively and we achieved both of them," Portland said.

"Now you use that and get ready for Sunday."