The Final Four: Penn State

It just feels right. It just feels right. Somehow, it is fitting that the Penn State women's basketball team chose this year to make its first appearance in the Final Four. The annual celebration of collegiate women's basketball is being held in Philadelphia this year, and while the City of Brotherly Love is by no means a short distance from College Park, the Lady Lions hope that the fans who fill First Union Center this weekend can make it feel a bit more like home. Tomorrow night, Penn State will need any and all such karma. What stands between it and a shot at the national title is a top-ranked UConn team that beat the Lady Lions during the regular season by the convincing score of 87-74. In that December 5 game, the Huskies never trailed Penn State and five players scored in double figures for UConn. The Huskies led by as many as 23 in the second half while cruising to the win in the Honda Elite 4 Holiday Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Penn State advanced to the Final Four by beating top-seeded Louisiana Tech Monday night, 86-65, in the Midwest Regional final. The Lady Lions were led by senior guard and Big Ten Player of the Year Helen Parker, who knocked down 15 points while going 5-10 from the field. She also notched 12 assists, four steals and four rebounds. Penn State also received double-digit scoring performances from its other four starters. Guard Lisa Shepherd dropped 25 points on the Lady Techsters, who had come into the game with a 21-game winning streak. Penn State center Andrea Garner, a Philadelphia native, scored 15 points, and forward Maren Walseth tallied 13. Guard Chrissy Falcone scored 10. Louisiana Tech was dominated by the strong inside play of Penn State, and could not withstand the Lady Lions' barrage of three-pointers -- they shot 54 percent from beyond the arc. Penn State also slowed the Lady Techsters' offense with an effective and vigilant zone defense. Against UConn, Penn State will need all this, and more, to prevail. -- Ryan Kelly