The bad luck streak in West Lafayette, Ind., continues.

The No. 13 Penn State women's basketball team (13-4, 4-1) could not overcome No. 9 Purdue's (14-2, 4-1) second -half surge, as the Lady Lions fell, 73-66, to the No. 9 Boilermakers last night at Mackey Arena.

The game last night was a battle between two of the top teams in the Big Ten, as well as a showcase of two of the nation's top players in Kelly Mazzante and Purdue's Shereka Wright.

"Purdue told me the way to win a Big Ten title is to come through West Lafayette," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said.

Wright knocked down 24 points, while Mazzante scored 16, well off her average of 26.6. Penn State had a 36-33 lead going into the second half, but the Lady Lions were held to a mere 30 points in the second half. The Lady Lions were overwhelmed by the Boilermakers' size, and had difficulty rebounding the ball. They had no answer to the 6-foot-5 Mary Jo Noon, who tallied 18 points along with Beth Jones' 14.

Last night's game also marked the debut of newly activated guard Melanie Croser, who saw her initial minutes at the end of the first half.

Next up for the Lions is Michigan State, a team that upset Purdue earlier this year. The Spartans (8-6, 1-2) meet the Lions Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Spartans have been up and down all season, and start four underclassmen. With young players comes respect for a team of Penn State's stature.

"I think Penn State is the team to beat in the conference," Michigan State women's basketball coach Joanne McCallie said. "They are so strong at home. There's no doubt they're the team to be beat, and they've proven it."

Penn State has won all seven contests so far this season at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Lions have also shown flashes of brilliance thus far, especially against middle of the pack teams like Michigan State. Sunday will also be Kelly Mazzante bobblehead doll day, something Portland said is an incredible honor. The first 1,000 fans will receive a bobblehead doll in the likeness of the Lady Lions' marquee player.

"I don't have a bobble head," Portland said. "How many girl bobble heads are there? We went and grabbed the first hundred of them."

No matter how many bobble heads Portland has, a win is what she is looking for on Sunday.