Under eight minutes remaining. Kelly Mazzante, steal, fast break, lay-up, stop, fist pump under the basket. Frustration from grappling defenders and a pair of disappointing performances was coming out.

After trailing most of the game, tied score, 64-64. A minute later defensive stop, Mazzante steal, give and go with point guard Jess Strom, lay-up. Penn State leads 66-64.

The Lady Lions (17-9, 10-4 Big Ten) never looked back, riding crowd energy to an 83-78 victory against Illinois (14-10, 7-7 Big Ten) at The Bryce Jordan Center yesterday.

While the pre-game focus was on seniors Rashana Barnes and Katrena Carr in their final home games, Mazzante enjoyed the spotlight during the game, leading all scorers with 37 points, including 15 from behind the arc and playing all 40 minutes. Before time expired, the nations' leading scorer set the Penn State single season scoring record with 683 points and single season three-point record with 71.

"I think in the second half she really got some things started for us," coach Rene Portland said. "She took off offensively and attacked people one-on-one and let us get some easy layups."

The Fighting Illini, who dominated post play in the first half and had a 45-32 rebounding edge for the game, were led by guards Angelina Williams and Tiffanie Guthrie, who each had 16 points.

By winning the game, the Lions virtually clinched a first round bye in the Big Ten tournament with two games left in the season.

Penn State trailed by as many as 10 points midway through the second half before launching into a comeback fueled by successful baseline-to-baseline defense that provided guard Tanisha Wright, who finished with 12 points, opportunities for easy points off lay-ups, bringing the crowd to its feet.

"Once we started cutting into the lead, there was a point we all just knew," Mazzante said. "The huddles were a lot closer and you could just feel we were going to take this game."

After trading baskets for the next few minutes as Penn State built a three-point lead with 1:38 left, the Illini defeat was sealed when guard Shavonna Hunter lobbed a pass to empty space and out of bounds.

"Honestly, I think we're a young team," Illini coach Theresa Grentz said. "They get to a certain point in the game when it comes time to figure out how to win it, and that part they just haven't gotten yet."

After the game, relived Lions talked about building confidence for their final two contests, on the road against Purdue and Michigan. Still, the focus was on coming together and coming from behind, to ensure Barnes and Carr left Happy Valley with heads held high.

"The seniors have worked so hard and I just wanted to make sure we won this game no matter what it took," Mazzante said. "It just came down to wanting it more."