Second-half effort not enough for win

STATE COLLEGE, Penn. -- IU racked up its best second half of basketball Sunday against Penn State. Fifty-two points and a sizzling 69 percent from the field both set season records for 20 minutes of Hoosier basketball.\nBut that wasn't the only season record set in front of 7,114 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center. During the first half, IU shot a dismal 14 percent from the field and scored a season-low 16 points. In all, the five first-half field goals made hot second-half shooting irrelevant as Penn State hammered the Hoosiers, 89-68.\n"Penn State just really shoved it down our throats and took it at us," IU coach Kathi Bennett said. "They were very ready." \nThe Lady Lions and IU are now tied for second place in the Big Ten conference standings, trailing Purdue by two games. With Sunday's win, Penn State now controls the conference tie-breaker, but the two teams will meet again Jan. 25 in Bloomington.\nIU (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten) started sluggishly, connecting on just one field goal in the game's first nine and a half minutes. In that span, Penn State (12-5, 4-2) built a 10-point lead on three-pointers from freshman guard Kelly Mazzante and sophomore guard Ashley Luke. Mazzante finished with 23 points, tying the game high. \n The Hoosiers never made consecutive field goals in the first half. The Lady Lions, the defending Big Ten champions, countered every IU bucket during the first 20 minutes.\n Penn State has now beaten IU 13 of the last 14 times. In fact, IU has never won at State College, and has never come within single digits of winning. The closest contest was an 83-73 Lady Lion win during the 1981-82 season, the first time the two schools met. \nThe Lady Lions' most recent domination comes on the heels of two consecutive conference losses for Penn State. Back-to-back defeats to Michigan and Illinois dropped Penn State from first to third in the conference standings.\nThe quick turnaround was because of the players, not the coaching, Penn State coach Rene Portland said.\n"It's been two days since our Michigan loss. I'm not their Fairy Godmother. I'm not that good," Portland said. "The players made great adjustments defensively."\nAmidst poor shooting, the Hoosiers were plagued by foul trouble in the first 20 minutes. IU leading scorer and rebounder, junior center Jill Chapman, picked up two fouls on Penn State's first possession and was forced to the bench just 27 seconds into the game.\nThe loss of Chapman for most of the first half destroyed the Hoosiers' inside attack. With Chapman and junior forward Rachael Honegger also on the bench with foul trouble, IU's offense became disoriented and unorganized.\nThe Hoosiers tried to create offense off penetration from their guards, but the Lady Lion defense stopped most IU advances.\n"Our defense caused a lot of problems for them," Portland said. "And I hope it's not a mirage. The defensive intensity in the first half was pretty exciting to watch."\nAnd without Chapman and Honegger, the Lady Lions dominated the boards in the first half, 30-21. Penn State controlled the glass throughout the game, 53-33.\nPenn State forward Rashana Barnes led the battle on the glass, compiling a career-high 15 rebounds, 10 of which came offensively. Barnes was 8-for-14 from the field, finishing with 23 points. Barnes scored 11 points off the offensive glass.\n"After two losses, we just really had to think about what can each of us do to put this team where it should be," Barnes said.\nIU made a run in the second half as its offense finally fell into sync. The Hoosiers hit nearly 70 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half.\nChapman, playing most of the second half with four fouls, piled up points for the Hoosiers in the second half, making 7-of-8 from the field. Overall, Chapman led the Hoosiers with 19 points in only 22 minutes of action.\n"When we made our run, the game was out of touch a little bit and we were fearless," Bennett said. "When we stepped on to the court at the start of the game, we didn't have that same mentality."\nAfter trailing by as many as 28 points in the second half, IU fought back, cutting the lead to 12 points with five minutes left. IU went on a 23-7 run during a six-minute stretch in the second half.\nChapman had nine points in the run, but Penn State rebounded with a 15-6 sprint to end the game and any chance of a Hoosier comeback.