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[ Monday, Feb. 14, 2000 ]
PSU reigns over Purdue in Big Ten showdown
By Josh Daeche
Collegian Staff Writer
In a clash between two Big Ten powerhouses, the Penn State women's basketball team showed Purdue that it is their year to call the shots in the Big Ten yesterday.
The No. 5 Lady Lions (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten) defeated the No. 15 Boilermakers 78-67 behind the surprising rebounding performance of Maren Walseth.
The junior forward had a career-high 15 boards and 17 points. Walseth displayed how dimensional she was with smart passing that led to easy Penn State baskets.
PHOTO: Glenn Miller/Collegian
Penn State center Andrea Garner releases a jump shot during yesterday’s game.
Adding to Walseth's solid attack was Rashana Barnes and Lisa Shepherd. The two combined for 23 points and 11 rebounds.
"Penn State has a tremendous amount of depth," Purdue women's basketball coach Kristy Curry said. "All five players can really score. That and a combination of us not wanting it bad enough hurt us. Look at their bench, it's extremely balanced. I get 2 points from my bench and they get 13 points from theirs."
Though Penn State won the game, there was another story developing. Purdue's junior All-American candidate Katie Douglas was ice cold in the first half, shooting a pathetic 1-or-6 from the field while scoring just five points.
Penn State went into halftime with a nine-point lead against the defending NCAA champs. But Douglas and Purdue were determined not to go quietly.
The Boilermakers came out of the second half on fire, much like they did in the first half, connecting on their first three attempts.
Douglas led the charge by taking the game into her hands. She drove to the basket, challenged Penn State from behind the arc, rebounded and most importantly hit open shots when she had to.
Douglas virtually took Purdue under her wing and carried the Boilermakers back to tie the score midway through the second half when she hit an uncontested wide open three-pointer with 8:18 left in the game.
This did not come as much of a shock to Penn State.
"We knew at halftime she was gonna come out in the second half and shoot," Andrea Garner said. "There's only so much you can do with a player that talented."
The three-pointer led to a Penn State timeout. Lion's women's basketball coach Rene Portland described the look she saw in some of her players as a "deer in headlights."
The timeout did the trick for Penn State because it responded by scoring on the next possession with a great no look pass from Walseth to Garner.
The Boilermakers were unable to stop the Lions down the stretch and Penn State walked away happy.
"We are obviously thrilled with the win," Portland said. "Are players showed a lot of poise."
Much like Purdue did last season, Penn State was doing it this season¾ coming up big when it had to, just like they have done all year.
