INDIANAPOLIS -- For all intents and purposes, it was the expected outcome.

The No. 5 team in the country is supposed to beat a fledgling squad barely at the .500 mark. It's more noteworthy when the Big Ten's three-time Player of the Year disappears than when she dominates. Shooting 22.6 percent in the first half won't put a team in a position to win many basketball games.

But none of these rules tell the story of last night's game, and none of them will make Penn State's 73-71 overtime loss to Ohio State (28-2) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals any easier to handle. This time, the Lady Lions (15-16) yearned to be the exception in a sport where dynasties reign and parity is scarce. The team that proudly exclaims how well it protects the Bryce Jordan Center was not yet ready to leave the Conseco Fieldhouse, and they proved it.

A valiant Lady Lion effort in the second half sent the game to overtime, and the jubilant underdogs could taste victory when they took a four-point lead two minutes into the session. But missed layups, free throws and the performance of Ohio State center Jessica Davenport, the back-to-back-to-back winner of the conference's top honor, snatched the prize from their grasps.

"We have to make this a positive somehow, because [taking the No. 5] team to overtime and two points, you have to be proud of yourself in that aspect," junior guard Kam Gissendanner, who led Penn State with 21 points, said. "But just to not come out with the victory is hard to accept."

Trailing by 10 at halftime, Penn State fought through the second half with urgency, shooting 70.4 percent from the field, a sharp contrast to its first half numbers. Gissendanner and freshman guard Tyra Grant were lights out after the break, and point guard Brianne O'Rourke continued her strong play with 11 points of her own, including a monster three-pointer to tie the game late in the second half.

But the Buckeyes countered every Lady Lion jab with an uppercut of their own. When it mattered most, Davenport took control. Her 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists were all game-highs, and she scored all seven Buckeye overtime points after the Lady Lions built a 70-66 lead.

"When you play teams that are hungry and looking to advance in a postseason-type atmosphere, you know that they're gonna give a good fight," Davenport said. "So we just had to sustain their run and we did, and we got the win."

Senior forward Charity Renfro, whose missed layup and free throw late could have tied the game at 72, cried under the basket as the final buzzer sounded.

"She thought it was her fault," head coach Rene Portland said. "It's not her fault. You just hug them and tell them you love them."

Despite the disappointment, Penn State is ready to move on. Though the Lady Lions leave Indianapolis dejected, they refuse to look back.

"We're just gonna keep working," Gissendanner said. "We've got a lot of people coming back.

"It doesn't stop here."