INDIANAPOLIS -- Oh, how quickly things can change.

Two weeks ago, on Feb. 29, it was the Penn State women's basketball team that was riding a euphoria developed after their 69-60 defeat of Purdue for the regular season Big Ten championship. As the Lady Lions cut down the net at the Bryce Jordan Center, the Boilermakers were the ones with the splotchy red faces, struggling to understand why they let the showdown get away from them.

But last Monday in Indianapolis, the Big Ten tournament championship game presented the ultimate rematch between the conference powerhouses, and as time expired to yield a 59-58 Purdue victory, it was Feb. 29 all over again -- but this time, reversed. As Purdue players stormed the court, tackling senior forward Shereka Wright, it was Penn State senior guard Kelly Mazzante who retired to the sideline, simply saying, "Dammit."

As the No. 4 Lions (25-5) gathered by their bench, wiping teary eyes with their uniforms, there were no clear cut answers why the third meeting of the season proved to be the charm for the No. 6 Boilermakers (27-3, 14-2).

"We still didn't think we were gonna lose," Mazzante said. "We had a couple of big plays, and that's the end."

But while there may not have been answers or any reasons why, there were certainly the final 20 seconds to consider, which directly determined the outcome of the dogfight.

During Purdue's final possession, a foul was called on Penn State point guard Jess Strom with four seconds remaining. A confident Shereka Wright then sank consecutive free throws to give her team a one-point advantage.

"Those two free throws were clutch, and you live for that," Wright said. "You always watch TV and see it happen, but then you put yourself in the situation, and it's kind of scary. But you live for the moment, I enjoyed the moment, and that's the best feeling in the world."

With one last chance for Penn State to make the game-winning basket, junior guard Tanisha Wright drove and made a last-second heave that was subsequently blocked by Shereka Wright. And just like that, the battle was over.

"She was supposed to [go all the way]," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said. "And she would have gone all the way, they just played great defense. The plan was for Kelly [Mazzante] to have a backdoor or for Tanisha to go the length of the court. She got the length of the court, and that's about it."

For a team that operates strictly on a goal-oriented approach, Monday night was a night for letting those goals slip away. On the larger scale, the goal of the Mazzante era has been to win a Big Ten Tournament championship, something Penn State has not been able to accomplish since 1996. In addition, the specific goals on the court -- keeping the Boilermakers off the free throw line and holding them to just 57 points -- were not accomplished.

Allowing Purdue to reach the free throw line 16 times to Penn State's eight proved deadly for the Lions, especially since it was Shereka Wright who did her damage through foul shots. Wright missed her first eight shots and did not score a basket from the field until a three-pointer with just over three minutes remaining in the game. But she got her 15 points by going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Giving up more than 57 points proved to be even more deadly for the women because, had they hit their defensive bull's-eye, they would have left Conseco Fieldhouse as champions.

Up by five at the half and having held Purdue to just 24 percent from the field, the Lions let the Boilermakers get their shots in the final minutes. Having Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Tanisha Wright playing with four fouls did not help bring aggression on defense.

"Was it a defensive breakdown?" Portland asked. "You dare [freshman forward Erin] Lawless to shoot a three and she makes it. Shereka [Wright] might have 12 or 13 threes for the whole season, and she makes it. It was a defensive breakdown, but it was some shots that you would take a chance on."

Offensively, it was Mazzante who was the hot shooter, as she shot 56 percent from the field and led all scorers with 22 points. Strom and senior forward Jess Brungo added 13 and 10 points, respectively, to round out double-digit scorers for the women.

To earn its berth in the championship game, Penn State downed Indiana (12-17, 4-12) 79-66 on March 5 and beat No. 24 Michigan State (21-8, 10-6) 58-54 on March 7 in the semifinals. Tanisha Wright's defense was a major factor in taking care of a pesky Indiana team that trailed by just one at the half. Strom and Mazzante stepped up offensively against the Spartans, while freshman center Reicina Russell helped to save the game by blocking a shot by Michigan State with six seconds to go that would have tied it up.

Both Mazzante and Strom were voted to the All-Tournament team, which was announced following the championship game and was voted on by the media covering the event. They were joined by Purdue freshman Katie Gearlds, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player Shereka Wright and Minnesota center Janel McCarville.

But this time around, other victories and awards meant nothing to the heartbroken Lions. Desperate to move on, their focus is now on the Big Dance, which starts next weekend. For these Lions, there is still a third part of the season -- the most important part.