Box Score |  Notes

Indianapolis, Ind.-- The Iowa Hawkeyes (20-9, 8-8) took the Penn State Nittany Lions (19-9, 13-3) to the limit, but couldn't maintain their 10-point lead and ended up falling to the Lions, 68-66. 

In their only regular season encounter, Penn State went into Carver-Hawkeye Arena in early January and defeated Iowa 77-71. 

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Tanisha Wright stole the ball from Iowa's Crystal Smith at the 13:00 mark in the first half.  While on the floor wrestling to get the ball, Wright flipped past two Iowa defenders to Jess Strom who laid it in to give the Lions a 14-11 lead.  That play was indicative of the energy and physicality that would dictate the game's entirety.

Both teams opened the game with a three-point shooting barrage.  Strom connected on two of the team's four three-point goals in the first half, while the Hawks hit three of their own. 

The play was very physical in the first 10 minutes, with countless plays winding up with multiple players on the floor, and just as many with Penn State lay-ups.  The Lions recorded 15 fast-break points in the first half. 

The other storyline that came out of the physical play was the foul situation.  The Nittany Lions were charged with 11 first-half fouls, with three different players recording two a piece.  In comparison, Iowa was only credited with four personals. 

As the half progressed Iowa senior Jamie Cavey began to exploit her talents inside.  Cavey pulled down eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, scored eight points, and blocked three shots as well.  Iowa retook the lead at 29-28 just under 3:30 left in the first half.

Iowa's Johanna Solverson led all scorers at the half with 13.  Smith also collected eight points in the opening session. 

With half a minute remaining in the first stanza, Smith passed to a streaking Solverson who laid the ball in to give Iowa a 34-31 halftime lead.  The Solverson basket capped an impressive 17-3 Hawkeye run over the half's last 7:00 minutes. 

Iowa picked up in the second half, right where they left off in the first, extending the streak to 25-5, before allowing Penn State to again dent the net from the field at the 16:45 mark.  The bucket ended a Penn State 1-for-17 shooting streak. 

The Iowa lead reach double-digits (47-37) for the first time when Smith hit an eight-foot jay five and a half minutes into the half, but Strom came back and stroked a dead-on three to cut the lead to seven.  Strom finished the game with 21 points and three triples.

At the 3:10 mark, Wright hit a five-foot jumper over Cavey to give the Lions the lead at 60-59, their first since the score was 31-30.  On the next possession, Cavey was fouled and appeared to injure her wrist.  Despite obvious pain, Cavey finished the night with 21 points and 10 rebounds.  The effort earned Cavey her seventh double-double of the season. 

With 50 seconds remaining in regulation, Penn State's Ashli Schwab rebounded a Wright miss.  The possession reset the shot clock and led to a jump-ball.  With the arrow favoring the Lions, they retained the ball.  After the inbounds, Penn State had the ball, up 64-62 with 26 seconds remaining in the game. 

At that point, Iowa looked to create as many possessions as possible by fouling.  Wright was the first one to visit the line, and she stroked both, giving PSU a four-point lead.

Smith took the inbounds pass and streaked up the floor and laid the ball in to cut the lead back down to two. 

Strom iced the next two from the charity strip and Smith again raced down the court and got a bucket.  On the Lions next trip down, Jennifer Harris lost the ball out of bounds with less that four seconds remaining.  A three-quarter court press prevented Smith from advancing the ball to the center circle and her last second prayer went unanswered as it flew just under the basket and Penn State walked away with a 68-66 victory. 

Penn State has failed to make the semifinals only twice in the 11-year history of the Big Ten Tournament. 

Penn State will advance to meet No. 2 seed and Co-Conference Champion Michigan State in the 2005 Big Ten Tournament semifinals at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.  The Lions defeated the Spartans in their only regular season contest 73-56 in Happy Valley in January.  Check back to BigTen.org for the latest news, scores, and stats from the 2005 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament.