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[ Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 ]
Lady Lions clinch outright Big Ten title
By Josh Daeche
Collegian Staff Writer
It was simple, defeat Minnesota and make history.
That is what the Penn State women's basketball team did last night, when they knocked off the Golden Gophers 93-42 at The Byrce Jordan Center.
From the opening tip to the final gun, the No. 6 Lady Lions (23-3, 14-1 Big Ten) controlled the entire game. Penn State forward Lisa Shepherd opened the game with a 3-pointer and from then on the Lions went on a 10-0 run to start the game.
PHOTO: Justin Bennett/Collegian
Penn State senior Andrea Garner executes a lay-up during the Minnesota game last night.
The Lions pressured Minnesota all evening causing 34 turnovers and countless amounts of uncontested fast breaks.
At times Penn State could not miss and the Gophers simply could not generate anything offensively.
"I think this is one of the finest teams Rene Portland has ever had here," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Littlejohn said. "Whenever you have two All-Americans in Helen Darling and Andrea Garner your team can do a lot."
Penn State saw excellent production from its seniors in Garner and Darling. All evening the talented tandem fed off one another much like they have done all season.
Garner led all scorers with 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. One of those blocks came midway through the first half and it was monstrous. The block led to a Maren Walseth base line jumper.
Walseth continued to play with poise and the drive Lions' fans have witnessed in the second half of the season, as she had 17 points and five rebounds.
The Lions went into halftime up 37-19.
The anticipation from the crowd and the countdown to crowning Penn State Big Ten champions was building.
"It was real important to come out and go on a 13-2 run," Portland said. "We came out and had our three post players start the half and we went on a roll. Everyone was trying to stay calm, but there was a lot of excitement in tonight's game."
The Lions fast start destroyed any hopes of a Minnesota comeback.
As the game went into its final minutes, Penn State looked to their seniors -- Marissa Graby, Garner and Darling -- as they have for the past four seasons.
All three were playing their final regular season game in The Byrce Jordan Center, and the crowd showed its appreciation by standing and applauding when Portland pulled them out of the game for the final time with 2:22 left.
"We're very proud of the way we ended our senior game," Garner said.
Penn State finished the season by going undefeated at home and the win solidified a No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament.
The Lions will play at Ohio State at 1 p.m. Sunday to finish off the regular season.
