Feb. 4, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern women's basketball team, still looking for its first Big Ten win of the year, gave 15th-ranked Penn State all it could handle Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan before falling to the Nittany Lions, 65-62.
NU fell to 4-17 (0-11 Big Ten), while Penn State remained in second place in the conference race. The Lady Lions are now 16-6 (8-3 Big Ten).
In a game that was sloppy in the first half and riveting in the second, Penn State made just enough plays down the stretch to overcome an inspired performance by the Wildcats. The Lady Lions scored the game's final six points in the last 1:56 to escape with the win.
The winning points came with just 20.8 seconds left. After Emily Butler missed a lefty runner in the lane for NU, Penn State freshman Kelly Mazzante collected the ball and went coast-to-coast for a layup and the last of her game-high 23 points.
After a timeout, Butler tried to bring the ball up the court against the PSU press but was stripped by a pair of Lions at midcourt. The ensuing scramble resulted in a jump ball that went to Penn State. Lisa Shepherd was fouled when the Lions inbounded the ball, and she hit both free throws to make it 65-62 with 13.9 seconds left.
Northwestern had two attempts at the basket, but a quick Leslie Dolland layup fell away and a long jumper by Michelle Zylstra was off the mark as time ran out.
Play in the first half was sloppy on both sides, as Northwestern turned the ball over 18 times and PSU turned it over 12. But the Wildcats also shot 55 percent from the field, and as a result took a 26-25 lead into the break.
The second half was a tense affair, as the lead changed hands nine times and there were seven ties. Northwestern was bolstered by the offensive play of Butler and the overall scrappiness of Zylstra, who had two timely buckets in the final five minutes and came up with several key rebounds. For the game, Butler finished with 22 points, while Zylstra had seven very big points and four boards.
Tami Sears added 10 points, while Natalie Will contributed five points, seven assists and four steals.
For Penn State, Maren Walseth and Rashana Barnes had 10 points to aid Mazzante.
Northwestern will be back in action Thursday, meeting Illinois at Assembly Hall in Champaign. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m.