INDIANAPOLIS -- Up until the seven-minute mark in the first half against Iowa on March 4, things were going relatively well for the No. 2 seeded Lady Lions.

Things were good. Almost too good.

Penn State came out very aggressive, looking rested and motivated from a five-day break following a regular season-ending loss to Ohio State.

The Lady Lions caused eight turnovers in those first 13 minutes against No. 6 Iowa, built themselves a 28-17 lead and then frustration took over. And when that frustration took over, it lasted for the remaining 27 minutes, but unlike the Michigan State game, Penn State was able to overcome a midgame lull, 68-66.

"It was extremely frustrating," said senior guard Tanisha Wright, who was just 1-of-9 in the first half. "I can only laugh about it now. I'm happy we got a win because, whew, that was rough. My teammates really came through and made some really big shots and did some really nice things as far as getting rebounds which really kept us alive."

As quickly as the Lady Lions built their 11-point lead, the Hawkeyes went on a 25-5 run, spanning more than 10 minutes from the first half into the second. Iowa, fresh off its 28-point blasting of No. 11 Michigan in the first round, actually led for 22:36, and 16:49 in the second half.

It was as if the Lady Lions took a break from 7:00 left in the first half until 7:00 in the second half. But, determined not to get knocked out of their last Big Ten championship in the quarterfinals, Wright and Jess Strom took things into their own hands at the second seven-minute mark.

The senior backcourt duo was a combined 9-of-37 from the floor to that point, but the remaining stretch was one of the guttier performances in their four years at Penn State.

"Obviously the two of us try to take over games when they're close," Strom said, "and I think going down the stretch we didn't want to lose."

Down 52-59 with 6:25 left, Strom and Wright scored eight straight points to give Penn State a one-point lead. A free throw by Iowa's Jamie Cavey tied it at 60, but Wright made her third straight bucket two possessions later and the Lady Lions led the rest of the way.

"When we were down seven we were actually talking defense," Strom said. "We needed a stop because me and T we were not shooting well, and we figured we needed to get some off of our defense."

Penn State converted 20 Iowa turnovers into 24 points, but the biggest stat of the game was the 19-2 edge in offensive rebounding. Ashli Schwab grabbed eight of them, and none were bigger than the two in the final two minutes.

With a two-point lead, Wright missed a layup, but Schwab was there to grab the board and put it back for her 10th point of the game. Cavey scored the next trip down, cutting it to two again but Schwab was even bigger the next possession.

Wright, who scored 17 points on 5-of-22 shooting, nearly put her team back up four but her shot rattled out. Schwab was there once again to give Penn State a fresh 30 seconds on the shot clock. Wright's second shot of the possession was also no good, but Schwab tied up Cavey on the rebound with 27 seconds left, and the possession arrow was pointing Penn State's way.

Iowa was forced to foul the rest of the way, and Wright and Strom made two free throws each to seal the win.

"[Iowa was] really focusing on Jess and T, because obviously the ball is gonna be in their hands at the end of a game," said Schwab, who recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. "Some of their shots weren't falling so I was in good position to get a rebound and put it back up."

Strom heaved a season-high 21 shots and scored 21, Wright tied a season-high with seven assists, all in the first half, and Schwab scored eight of her 10 points on putbacks as the senior class did everything to extend its season.