Two days prior to the Lady Lions' game against No. 8 Purdue, sophomore guard and co-captain Kamela Gissendanner said the key to winning was to stop an opposing guard from scoring 28 points.

What she was referring to was Penn State's Jan. 9 loss to Purdue, when junior guard Katie Gearlds scorched Penn State for 28 points.

While Gissendanner had every right to worry about Gearlds, it was ultimately a balanced attack from Purdue, and a lack thereof from Penn State, that beat the Lady Lions yesterday.

Dropping in a team-high 17 points, Gearlds certainly did her part, but three other Boilermakers finished the game in double figures.

"We're at our best when we have great balance," Purdue women's basketball coach Kristy Curry said.

Senior guard Sharika Webb and sophomore forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton each scored 12 points, while senior center Aya Traore added 10.

If Purdue was the model of a well-balanced offense, Penn State was a million miles away from one.

Junior forward and co-captain Amanda Brown tied a career-high with 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting, but Gissendanner was the only other Lady Lion to even finish in double figures, adding 11 points.

But the seven other Lady Lions that saw minutes only combined for a paltry 21 points.

With Brown providing the only substantial firepower, Portland wasn't left with many options from her bench.

"I think about a lot when I turn around and look at my bench and I can't really sub," Portland said.

"Somebody said tonight, 'Why don't you play your four guards?' I couldn't get three to play, no less four to play."

Brown's previous career-high of 25 points came earlier this year in a Dec. 22 game against St. Francis (Pa.).

"Amanda had a great game, so I hope that doesn't get lost in this thing," Portland said.

When looking back on yesterday's game though, Brown will remember the loss, not the personal record.

"It's hard," Brown said. "Obviously things were open for me tonight, but obviously I wish that we had won. It's nothing great."

Incredible balance from Purdue didn't catch Portland off-guard, though -- three Purdue players scored in double figures when the two teams played earlier this year.

"It was the same exact comment after we played them there," she said. "Webb did more, but ... that's the exact same kind of balanced attack that we saw when we were out there."

With Gearlds on the Lady Lions' minds, Portland admitted somebody else would eventually break through for Purdue.

This time around, it was Webb. With only one field goal, Webb did most of her damage from the free-throw line, knocking down nine-of-10 from the charity stripe.

"Anybody that plays them, you've got to look for some kind of a weak link," Portland said. "Obviously you go after Katie 'cause Katie's playing so very, very well. But, you've got to let somebody go, and tonight when we let [Webb] go, she really capitalized on it."

And while Gissendanner and company did their job keeping Gearlds under 28 points, she was still the leader of the offense.

"She still ended up with a whole lot, but not as much as usual," Portland said. "We lost her a few times."