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Thursday, Dec. 28 7:00pm ET
Walseth, Shepherd big in second half | |||||
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BOX SCORE
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Maren Walseth and Lisa Shepherd didn't play well in the first half against Minnesota. With just two points apiece, it might have been the worst half of the season for Penn State's seniors. Still, they knew what they needed to do when the time came, just like coach Rene Portland knew they would. "We both are old enough we know when we have to step it up," Shepherd said. "Rene didn't have to say anything to us this game." Walseth finished with 21 points and Shepherd had 20 as the Lions (9-3) rallied to beat Minnesota 91-73 on Thursday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Penn State (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) trailed 45-38 at halftime, but the senior tandem combined for 14 points in an 18-6 run to open the second half. The Lions never trailed after Shepherd's 3-pointer with 17:29 left. "That's what seniors are supposed to do. In crunch time, that's who the ball has to go to," Portland said. "It's nice to see that our seniors are winning games for us." Minnesota (7-4) kept it close until Penn State went on a 13-0 run to take a 72-58 lead with 7:49 left. "I think our defense led to good offense," Portland said. "Our defense made them rush their shots. We got some good rebounding from people. We also got some good steals. "Those breakaways really helped us, and then when they pressed us we were able to attack them and got some layups in the last few minutes." "We gave up a lot of transition baskets in the second half, and didn't board as well as we could have. They dominated the boards," Minnesota coach Cheryl Littlejohn said. Rashana Barnes finished with 14 points for Penn State, and Katrena Carr scored 12. Courtney Upshaw had 10 rebounds. Minnesota trailed most of the first half, but took a 35-34 lead on a Kim Price putback. The Golden Gophers hit 55 percent of their shots in the first half. "Our defense was really bad, and the guards were really letting us down, letting them drive anywhere they wanted to drive," Portland said. Prince and Tanisha Gilbert each scored 19 points for Minnesota, and Lindsay Whalen had 17. | ALSO SEE Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
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