Lady cagers’ use strong second half to bury Badgers ... again

By WILLIAM KALEC
Collegian Staff Writer

Wisconsin women's basketball coach Jane Albright-Dieterle didn't have an answer.

Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland couldn't find an explanation.

For the second time in as many games the No. 21 Lady Lions played an uninspired first 20 minutes of basketball in their 91-61 victory against Wisconsin Friday night at The Bryce Jordan Center.

And for the second straight game the Lions fixed that sluggish start with a second-half offensive explosion that simply buried the helpless Badgers.

"I think what you saw were two contrasting halves of basketball," Albright-Dieterle said. "We shoot the ball very well as you can see that, but their pressure defense forced us into a lot of turnovers. Thirty-seven (turnovers) is a record I think since I have been at Wisconsin."

Emerging from the locker room, the Badgers enjoyed a slim one-point margin triggered by 70-percent shooting from the field, compared to Penn State's 37-percent effort. Wisconsin entered the second half entertaining thoughts of upsetting the Lions and quite possibly turning around a disappointing conference record.

Penn State thought otherwise.

Like they did against Northwestern two nights earlier, the Lions made a competitive contest academic midway through the second stanza. Six steals within the first seven minutes of the second half quickly turned a one-point Wisconsin lead into a comfortable 19-point Penn State cushion at the 12:49 mark.

"I was certainly disappointed with the energy level in the first half," Portland said. "You don't let people come into your gym and laugh in your face, you just don't do that. That is what we talked about at halftime and that is all we could talk about at halftime."

In almost a carbon copy of her performance last Wednesday night against Northwestern, Lion guard Lisa Shepherd was the catalyst to Penn State's 60-point second-half eruption. Shepherd hit two quick 3-point baskets within the first three minutes of the second half giving the Lions a lead they would not relinquish.

While Shepherd was making things happen from the outside, forward Maren Walseth stole the show in the paint. In a mere 15 minutes of playing time, Walseth tallied 15 points on 6 for 9 shooting along with four steals, tying her with guard Helen Darling for the game high.

Walseth was ultimately stopped -- not by the Badgers but by a contact lens, as she exited early second half to fix the problem.

Besides that, little went wrong in a half in which the Lions forced Wisconsin into 23 turnovers while shooting 62 percent including converting 6 of 7 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.

And despite her brief optical impairment, Walseth could easily see that Penn State was clearly a different team in the second half.

"I think we realized that their front court was bigger but that they were slower," Walseth said. "So we were able to get down the court quicker than they did and that worked out."