Memo to all women's basketball coaches in America: Do not tick the No. 6 Penn State Lady Lions off.

Giving this team a reason to play, which is exactly what Michigan State women's basketball coach Joanne McCallie did after saying that the last time the two teams met a referee's decision decided the final outcome, which has now proven to be a death sentence.

The Lady Lions (22-4, 14-1 Big Ten) pressed, scrapped, and out-hustled the No. 22 Spartans (19-7, 9-6) in East Lansing for a 63-51 victory, and that score doesn't do the beating justice.

What makes the win even more impressive was that it was Senior Day for Michigan State, but someone must have forgotten to tell the Spartans and their fans that.

Also, the talk of any Kelly Mazzante slump is now officially over as the two-time All-American led both teams with 23 points.

Penn State jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and stretched that lead to 27-14 at halftime.

The 14 points that Michigan State scored were the fewest in one half for the Spartans this season.

As usual, the Lady Lions defense was extremely aggressive, pressing in one way or another the entire game, forcing Michigan State into 17 turnovers.

Penn State extended its lead to as many as 26 points midway through the second half, but Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland refused to call off the full-court pressure that the Lady Lions used for a large amount of the game.

Junior point guard Jess Strom also had the scoring touch last night, finishing with 18 points, eight points above her average.

The Lady Lions offense was most impressive in the way that it handled Michigan State's infamous zone defense, finding holes consistently through, around and over the coverage.

During Penn State's largest run of the game, which came during the second half, the Lady Lions scored on the exact same play on back-to-back possessions, forcing the Spartans to call a much needed time out.

The biggest surprise of the game was the offense, or lack thereof, of Tanisha Wright. Wright, who had been Penn State's leading scorer during Mazzante's two game disappearance, didn't make her first field goal until mid way through the second half.

But "The Warden's" defensive pressure was one of the main reasons for many of the Spartans offensive miscues.

The teams are now headed in opposite directions, as the loss is the third straight for Michigan State, while Penn State is currently on a four game tear, and has won 15 of its last 16.

Penn State will need all the momentum it can get heading into the Big Ten season finale against No. 4 Purdue. The winner will claim the conference championship outright.

And if Purdue women's basketball coach, Kristy Curry, doesn't want to see the same Lady Lions team that played tonight, she'd be smart to keep her comments about Penn State to herself.