Lacking much size in their frontcourt, the Gophers (7-7, 1-3 Big Ten) have depended on shots from behind the arc to comprise most of their scoring. On Monday, Minnesota had as much success with that game plan as Virginia Tech did with its one-dimensional offense against Florida State.

Instead of concentrating on their best scoring chance, the Gophers focused on denying Penn State's post players. While the plan worked for a while, the Lions (13-2, 4-0) simply kicked the ball out to the guards, who took advantage of the open shots.

And it was Falcone who made the Gophers pay dearly for suffocating Garner and the rest of the post players. At the end of the first half, she had 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting from behind the arc.

Shepherd also hit a three, helping the Lions build a 39-15 halftime lead. Penn State finished the first half shooting 39 percent to Minnesota's 22 percent and hit 7 of 13 3-pointers, while the Gophers connected on zero of their nine attempts.

Although the guards did not shine as much in the second half, their presence was still felt. Falcone finished with 17 points and no turnovers, while Shepherd had 13 and seven rebounds, as every Lion found her way into the scorebook.

But outside shooting was hardly the mainstay of Penn State's game plan. Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Garner began to take advantage of the Gophers, scrapping for loose balls and rebounds that often resulted in a score. Forward Maren Walseth added eight points. For as much as the Lions did on the offensive end, they increased their effort on the defensive side.

The Gophers shot just 23 percent for the game, turned the ball over 35 times and were outrebouned 40-36. Although Penn State's substitutes saw playing time almost equal to that of the starters, Minnesota could still find no crack in the Lions' defensive wall.

"We set a goal and said how many points we were going to let them score," Portland said. "It was a challenge for the kids that don't play as much."