After the Lady Lions defeated Texas on Dec. 7, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland referred to junior point guard Jess Strom as a "little gnat fly," and her actions on the court as those that "really spurred things on."

Yesterday afternoon as the No. 8 Penn State women's basketball team (19-4, 11-1) defeated Michigan (11-15, 4-9), Strom was back to her gnat fly ways.

With three steals and five assists in the first ten minutes, she was the impetus behind the Lions' convincing 13-0 start, a start from which the women never looked back en route to a 73-44 victory.

"We came out, and we got a couple of steals early and it just built and we just kept running," Strom said.

Strom created problems for the Wolverines by being able to back off Michigan's point guard on defense and move freely around the court. The game plan that called for Strom to back off Michigan guard Sierra Hauser-Price was implemented to capitalize on the fact that Hauser-Price is not a strong shooter, as she averages just 3.6 points per game. Strom executed perfectly, holding Hauser-Price scoreless while creating chaos on court for the Wolverines.

While Strom was credited with four steals for the game, she created additional situations that led to key turnovers. Michigan gave up the ball 24 times as opposed to Penn State's 11, and 29 Lions points were scored off those turnovers, in contrast to just three for the Wolverines.

"Jess was able to back off their point guard and make a lot of things happen," Portland said.

In addition to the pressure she created on the Wolverines, Strom also kept the passing lanes open and did a fine job of distributing the ball. Four other Lions recorded double-digit point totals off of Strom's 12 assists. To the record 15,389 fans in attendance, her proficient passing was well evident.

"Every time she made a pass the student section yelled, 'We love you Strom,' " senior guard Kelly Mazzante said. "We were laughing."

But Strom was hardly content to simply enable her teammates to contribute to the score. She herself was the fifth Penn State player to score in double digits, as her 10 points were good for third on the team.

Her double-digit point and assist totals combined to give Strom her first double-double of the season. Strom's own offensive production, which has been on and off all season, is something Portland always longs to see.

"I'm just happy to see her shooting the ball," Portland said. "I talked about the 'and others' [players that are not named Mazzante or Tanisha Wright] after the Minnesota game, and anybody on our team has the green light to shoot the ball. I like the fact she was willing to take some chances."

Eight chances, to be exact. And for a gnat fly who, at 5-foot-7, is on the small side, the effort to stay flitting around the court was well-appreciated.

"I really liked [that] when she took the ball to the basket, she just wasn't squashed like a bug," Portland said. "She went up there and showed that the weight room did some things and was able to get the foul and the three point play."

In her 36 minutes on the court, Strom's pestering ensured that the Wolverines found no way to get in the game.

And in the physical sport that is Big Ten women's basketball, it turns out that Strom -- the team's energetic gnat fly -- is exactly what the women need.