If basketball really is a game of runs, as Purdue junior Katie Gearlds alluded to yesterday following the game, then the 21-5 Boilermakers' run at the start of the second half must have felt like the 26th mile of a marathon for the Lady Lions.

Trailing 34-30 at halftime, the Lady Lions (10-12, 4-7 Big Ten) began to inhabit what Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland called "Turnover City" in a 72-61 loss to No. 8 Purdue (18-3, 10-1), enabling the black and gold to go on the game-deciding run.

Penn State managed to catch a second wind, countering with a 15-5 streak of its own to cut the lead down to nine at 60-51, but the uphill battle proved to be too much. The continuous inability to protect the basketball thwarted any real chance of a comeback against the team atop the Big Ten standings.

Last week, Portland said she was pleased with how the team was getting better at putting together a full 40 minutes. Yesterday proved to be a setback, as the "fading away" came at the start of the second half.

The Lady Lions committed 18 turnovers on the afternoon, 10 of which came in the final 20 minutes. Although there is not a huge discrepancy, it was Purdue's ability to capitalize that made that difference, scoring 10 points off turnovers and 11 on free throws during the second half.

"That's 21 free points that we gave them," Portland said.

If "Turnover City" actually existed, the undisputed major would be freshman guard Mashea Williams. Her eight turnovers and six points on just 2-of-6 shooting represented one of her toughest outings in her young career.

As Portland pointed out, such a performance is uncharacteristic of her, but the four fouls she picked up, all of which were in the second frame, represented an undisciplined game for the guard that is heralded as the next Penn State defensive stopper.

Her problems represented the greater problems of the offensive unit.

"We were really out of sync," Portland said. "We made real bad decisions."

Purdue's halftime adjustments contributed to the poor decisions made by Penn State, disrupting the fluid attack of the Lady Lions led by Amanda Brown, who had half of the Lady Lions' 30 first-half points.

Rather than hang their heads, it showed the tenacity characteristic of much of the season, fighting back to within single digits three several occasions.

Unfortunately for Penn State, it also showed the inability to get over the hump to get within striking distance late, as Purdue opened up a 13-point lead in the waning minutes after another Penn State run, securing the Boilermaker's first win in Happy Valley since 1999.

"They got a run of their own," Gearlds said. "They didn't back down. They kept fighting."