It would be an arduous 13 minutes of game time before Mazzante finally broke the record with two free throws. She finished with 24 points in the game and now holds the Big Ten women's record for all-time high scoring with 2,594 points.

The senior guard scored the game's first points but proceeded to miss her next three shots. Clearly nervous and frustrated, Mazzante had to be taken out at the 14:39 mark.

"Well, a kid does run out of gas a little bit," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said, referring to the hoopla surrounding the game. "We had several hundred people at our shooting practice this morning; our [university] president was at pre-game with us. There were a lot of things going on today."

Portland also acknowledged that Mazzante's nervousness extended to the rest of the team.

"I've seen players nervous," Portland later added, "but I don't think I've ever seen a whole team nervous. Usually it's just the player involved that's nervous."

Mazzante was back on the court in less than two minutes but still needed a little more time to get her rhythm, which was evident by a miss on a three-pointer shortly after re-entering with 10:05 left in the first half.

But the fans didn't have to wait much longer for Mazzante to break the record.

When junior guard Tanisha Wright kicked the ball back off an offensive rebound, Mazzante nailed the open opportunity and pulled to within two of Katie Smith's 2,578-point record with 7:46 left in the half. Forty-one seconds later, the former Buckeye's record belonged to Mazzante, when she hit two free throws after being fouled on a lay-up attempt.

The Lions called time-out, and a brief impromptu celebration ensued, with Mazzante hugging her teammates and coaches before running up into the stands to share the moment with her parents.

"I was very happy she broke the record at home, not only for our fans but for her parents," Portland said.

After the pageantry, there was a basketball game, though it wasn't much of one.

The teams combined to shoot 43 percent from the field while committing 35 turnovers.

Though Illinois attempted numerous comebacks, the outcome of the game was never in serious doubt. Penn State jumped to a 17-5 lead early in the first half. The Illini never got closer than six points.

"As far as the game goes, I'm a little bitter, but that's life," Illinois women's basketball coach Theresa Grentz said. "This team is close, but we are still trying to get all five people on the same page."

The less than graceful basketball did little to quell the enthusiasm of the 13,305 fans in the stands, however. The crowd, which broke the Penn State women's basketball attendance record of 12,473, found ways to maintain its excitement throughout.

Even a legit "WE ARE ... PENN STATE" chant erupted over the din of the crowd in the game's waning moments.

While much of this game revolved around Mazzante's milestone, it also marked the return of junior point guard Jess Strom, who scored nine points and had eight assists and six steals.

"We lost [Strom] for a few games, but we have to be patient with her," Portland said. "There were a couple games where she really didn't do anything offensively. [She] is the X-factor for us."

Penn State's maligned post-players also appeared to make strides against the Illini, holding All-Big Ten performer Cindy Dallas to zero points in the first half .

"Our goal was to not let her have a double-double," said junior center Ashli Schwab, who scored a season-high 12 points. "We kind of let down in the second half, and she had 10 points and 10 rebounds. We did a good job in the first half, so we have to kind of pick it up from there. We can't have letdowns in the second half."

As she has many times this year, Portland reiterated the importance of the team's post-play.

"We need the post players to make us different than last year," Portland said.