Before each of their last few home contests, a different member of the Lady Lions has asked the crowd to stand until Penn State scored its first bucket in a taped message played on the scoreboard.

Against Minnesota and Indiana this simple show of support proved to be no problem, as the Lady Lions scored to start both games and got the faithful off their feet.

Last night against Wisconsin by the time the Lady Lions had come up empty on their first four possessions, the less hardy spectators had begun to waver. Tanisha Wright finally put the team's backers out of their misery with a layup at the 18:18 mark -- if it was an inauspicious beginning, it certainly was not a sign of things to come. Penn State recovered to completely blow the Badgers out the water on the strength of 21 points from Jess Strom and a 46-point first half that effectively put the game out of reach early, as Wisconsin struggled to its lowest point total of the season in the Lady Lions' 76-43 win.

There was no question the night belonged to Strom. She single-handedly picked apart Wisconsin in the half, scoring 19 points while also dishing out four assists to go with three rebounds and three steals.

"If Jess Strom isn't the best point guard in the country then I don't know who is," Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone said after the game. "You can write that as a quote from me, I love the way she plays."

The Lady Lions have been struggling with their shooting as of late, but there was definitely no sign of tired legs. Penn State shot 51.4 percent from the field and scored 17 fast-break points in the first half, compared to 23.3 percent and zero fast break points for Wisconsin. The Badgers finished with 26 turnovers. Penn State's defense in the first half forced the Badgers into 15 turnovers. Two-time defending Big Ten defensive player of the year Tanisha Wright also held Jolene Anderson, Wisconsin's leading scorer, to just four points in the first half. At one point in the first half Strom drilled three triples within four minutes. Those shots buried Wisconsin for good and caused its defense to become discombobulated. Strom toyed with the Badgers for the rest of the half.

"I think I just came out looking for my shot in the first half," Strom said. "And they were falling."

Minutes after her third three, a defender stuck to Strom despite the fact the sharpshooter Jenny Brenden was holding the ball at the arc with no red jersey within 10 feet. Brenden promptly drained Penn State's fourth trey of the half.

On another occasion, Strom merely glanced on the basket from the perimeter and her defender took the bait hard, giving her a clear road to the tin. In the second half the Lady Lions put on the cruise control and coasted to an easy victory. Midway into the half, Penn State emptied its bench.

"Jess Strom had 19 in the first half and finished with 21, does that mean we stopped Jess Strom in the second half? Absolutely not," Stone said. "She had her way with us."

Wright finished with 14 points on an efficient 6-for-13 shooting and moved past Suzie McConnell into fourth place on Penn State's all-time career scoring list.