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Sunday, Feb. 13 5:00pm ET
Penn State clears big conference hurdle | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Maren Walseth had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as No. 6 Penn State beat Purdue (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, No. 15 AP) 78-67 on Sunday. The Big Ten-leading Lady Lions (20-3, 11-1) cleared their biggest hurdle to a conference title. Their remaining games are against four of the five worst teams in the conference. Lisa Shepherd added 16 points, including eight in the final six minutes, and Helen Darling had 14. Katie Douglas scored 20 of her 25 points in the second half to lead Purdue back from 12 points down. Camille Cooper had 15 points and 11 rebounds. After tying the game, the Boilermakers did not make a field goal and had only four free throws over the final 5:25. Penn State went ahead 71-65 on a drive by Shepherd, then went 7-of-8 from the line. The Lions were 28-for-33 from the line overall. With their 55-50 victory over Purdue last month, the Lions swept the Boilermakers (17-6, 9-4) after losing five straight since 1997. The Boilermakers had an eight-game winning streak snapped. It was no wonder Purdue's streak came to an end: Other than a short stretch in the second half, they played nothing like they had over the past month. They had been shooting 45 percent from the field, but shot only 39 percent against the Lions. After grabbing 12.3 more rebounds per game than their opponents, they were outrebounded 48-32 against Penn State. Trailing by nine with 14:55 to play, Purdue came back thanks to four Lions turnovers in a two-minute stretch. Driving to the basket on every play, the Boilermakers cut the lead to 50-47 on Kelly Komara's coast-to-coast layup off a steal. Then Komora and Douglas each hit 3-pointers to tie it at 57-57 with 8:13 to play. But Shepherd scored eight of Penn State's next 12 points, driving in for three baskets and hitting two foul shots to put Penn State ahead 71-65. The Lions took a 39-30 lead at halftime behind Walseth's 10 points and 10 rebounds. Walseth came on strong after top scorer Andrea Garner sat with two fouls for 11 minutes in the first half. Purdue went one-for-10 during a 14-4 Penn State run over almost seven minutes. The Lions improved to 12-0 at home and, if they defeat Minnesota Feb. 24, would finish unbeaten at home for the first time since 1994. | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
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