PHOTO: Colin Gillette/Collegian
Penn State coach Rene Portland looks on during the Florida game earlier this season.

By Gwenn Miller
Collegian Staff Writer

Rene Portland stomped her high heel into the floor as if to stamp out the poor performance she was witnessing.

Occasionally, she shook her head in frustration. At other moments, she screamed instructions to players, ordering them to improve certain aspects of their games.

And it wasn't just because of occasional poor play on the part of her Lady Lions — Wisconsin wasn't exactly winning any awards for style.

In No. 7 Penn State's 68-54 win against the Badgers, both teams had moments of brilliance interspersed with several turnovers, missed shots and missed rebounds.

But after 21 games, Penn State's edge is starting to dull. Portland said her team had not been given a day off since it returned from winter break, and is in need of a few days' reprieve to resharpen and refocus.

"We're tired and we'll be the first one to admit it," she said. "If you're a player and you're out on the floor and you look up at the score, it's real hard to get motivated sometimes."

It can explain small players outrebounding power forwards. It can explain the missed layups. It can explain bad offensive decisions and defensive breakdowns.

The fact that center Andrea Garner did not play most of the game due to an aggravated hamstring didn't help matters. Additionally, point guard Helen Darling played just three days after hurting her lower back against Michigan.

Neither team was immune to poor play, but it didn't dominate the entire game either.

The Lions (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten) dominated the first five minutes with forward Maren Walseth scoring in the first six seconds, leading her team on a 15-0 rampage. Every player contributed, whether it was a rebound, an assist or a block.

"It was a terrific start, and we got a little bit of everything from everybody," Portland said.

Forward Rashana Barnes replaced Garner and recorded a career-high six blocks, while fellow backup Marissa Graby scored a career-high five points and added a steal. Walseth followed Thursday's career night with a team-high 15 points and Darling and guard Lisa Shepherd each had 12.

On the opposite bench, the Badgers (10-8, 4-5) seemed to throw the ball directly to Penn State players or carelessly toss it out of bounds. They also couldn't seem to hit the easy shot, including layups.

"It wasn't a great shooting afternoon and Penn State contributed to that by blocking eight shots," Wisconsin coach Jane Albright said.

The Badgers' bright spot came in the form of rebounds — 56 to be exact. Forward LaTonya Sims and center Jessie Stomski each grabbed 17 boards, both of which were career highs.

"I tried to focus on rebounding when my shots weren't going in," Stomski said.

Rebounding aside, Penn State simply had more dominant moments and fewer lulls, despite Garner's absence.

"When we needed to fight off a surge, we were able to fight it off," Portland said.