The Penn State women's basketball team's unraveling at the hands of Purdue on Sunday afternoon exposed some big holes in the Lady Lions' preparations: without Tanisha Wright, Penn State's offense suffers big time.

"We just have to stick to the game plan," guard Jess Strom said. "We didn't really do a good job of that at Purdue."

The Lady Lions are still in both top 25 polls after Sunday's loss -- checking in at No. 25 with a 14-8 overall record, and a 9-2 Big Ten conference record.

Penn State coach Rene Portland was unavailable to the media yesterday for her usual mid-week press conference due to a last minute obligation that required her to leave the area for a short period.

Associate head coach Annie Troyan filled in for Portland, just like she had earlier in the year when Portland took a medical leave of absence for three games.

"Like Jess said, we came up with the game plan, and a lot of the things that we had set up didn't start or go as we had planned," Troyan said. "Our execution was not on top of it, and when you're on the road in an environment like Purdue you need to execute better. It wasn't necessarily the shots we were getting, but it was because it wasn't within the game plan."

Strom was forced to carry the Lady Lions on her 5-foot-7 frame, leading the team with 11 points. But without Wright -- who only played 24 minutes due to foul trouble -- drawing the defense's attention, she struggled shooting.

"On a lot of our sets, they were bringing two people at me, and I was going too much to try to get through the trap," Strom said. "Then I'll find myself shooting because that's what I was looking to do. I should've just brought it back and ran something."

Sunday's loss was a wake-up call for the Lady Lions, but Troyan quickly pointed out that the team's confidence must remain high and focused for Indiana tomorrow night.

The Hoosiers led the Lady Lions for an uncomfortable first few minutes before Penn State turned on the juice and put Indiana away, 65-44, at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.

Avoiding a let down at the Bryce Jordan Center -- a place Indiana has never won -- no matter how it has previously played out, was the crucial concern for Troyan yesterday.

Strom agreed, saying the team still considers itself a contender.

"We just know what we have to do," Strom said. "We know we can still win a Big Ten championship."

Getting the offense back on track is arguably the most important part of ensuring a Big Ten Championship is still a possibility.

"There's times at practice that we've been in these situations, and there's time at practice when we've pulled Jess out and made T run the offense, so we do prepare for things like that on a daily basis," Troyan said. "And when you get into the game it's definitely not the same as when you get into their gym, and there's suddenly 9,000 people."

P-Squad representin'

An investigator would be hard pressed to find any NCAA Division I women's basketball program not practicing against guys during scrimmaging and match-up preparation.

The Lady Lions' opponents in practice, sometimes known on the scoreboard in practice as the "P-Squad," keep Penn State prepared for its upcoming opponents more effectively than practicing against women.

"Most of them are former high school players who just aren't able to compete at the Division I level," Troyan said. "We just don't have females on our campus that can come in and practice what [Minnesota center] Janel McCarville is doing. I'm only allowed to give them shorts and shoes so they can run up and down the court, but they just enjoy being around the team. It gives them a great opportunity to work out everyday. I don't know of any team that is not using them at this point."

Strom laughed initially when asked about whether she enjoys taking on the P-Squad one-on-one, but admitted it does give her game a lift.

"Playing against guys always makes you better, quicker," Strom said.