Sophomore forward Ashli Schwab is out indefinitely following the discovery of a stress fracture in her right tibia.

She did not make the Lady Lions' last road trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., and did not play against Villanova.

The problem developed over time and was not caused by any single play. It started with shin splints about two months and progressively got worse.

"It just a sharp, aching pain through my leg," Schwab said describing what she feels when she tries to plant or run.

The Lions and Schwab will know more early next week when she is re-evaluated and gets more X-rays. The only thing Schwab can do to heal is to stay off her leg as much as possible.

The timing of Schwab's injury is not good for the Lions, as they are coming off a stretch of four games in one week. Schwab played very limited and ineffective minutes in victories against Michigan State and Old Dominion. She was unable to play at all against Michigan and Villanova. Without Schwab, the Lions were forced to make a furious rally to beat the Wolverines, and were beaten at Villanova.

The Lions' defense in the post has been noticeably worse without the presence of the 6-foot-3 forward. Old Dominion senior forward Kim Giddens made mince meat of the Lions' defense to the tune of 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting. She averaged less than six points a game coming in. Sophomores Hazel Joseph and Tiffany Tomlinson have filled in admirably, but neither have the court presence that Schwab possesses on the offensive or defensive end.

Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland has stressed that Joseph's job is to run the court and to grab rebounds. A similar assignment can be assumed for Tomlinson, and this has put the Lions in tough situations. When the Lions were forced to cut Schwab's minutes due to injury, Portland was most worried about the Myerstown native's confidence remaining high.

"I don't think [confidence is] something I'm going to lose," Schwab said. "I'm probably not going to be 100 percent or in the best of shape when I return, but I'm not going to lose my confidence as a player."

Before playing two games against Michigan State and ODU, where she played sparingly for about 10 minutes, Schwab was averaging a team-high 7.9 rebounds and 10.3 points per game. The Lions will be without Schwab on Thursday against Ohio State, and her return against Purdue on Feb. 13 is questionable.