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M A R C H 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 After an early Big Ten exit last year, PSU's Class of 2014 shoots for a strong finish Penn State exited last year's Big Ten women's basketball tournament with a 54-46 semifinal loss to Michigan State in which it got 23 points from Maggie Lucas and 23 from the nine other players com- bined. The Spartans weren't much better, and between them, the two teams "prob- ably set women's basket- ball back about 30 years," Lady Lions coach Co- quese Washington said on Tuesday afternoon. "It was horrible to coach in, and I'm sure it was horri- ble to watch on TV." That it was. But in a few days, Penn State will get a long-awaited opportunity to atone for its meek disappearance from the 2013 tourney. At noon Friday, the top- seeded Lady Lions will open the '14 tour- nament against the winner of a first-round matchup between eighth- seeded Ohio State and ninth-seeded Northwestern. It's the start of what the Lady Lions hope will be a three-game run to their first league tourney title in nearly two decades. They've won or shared the past three Big Ten regular-season cham- pionships but haven't been able to hold their seed in the postseason. If they are able to claim this year's title – the Spar- tans are seeded second and head up the opposite side of the bracket – it will be the program's first Big Ten tournament crown since 1996. But first things first. Penn State de- feated the Buckeyes handily both home and away during the regular season, winning the two matchups by a com- bined margin of 44 points. The Wild- cats, however, posed some real problems. PSU went 2-0 against North- western, but had to rally for a 79-75 vic- tory in Evanston, and then had to hold off a Northwestern comeback effort in an 82-73 victory at the Bryce Jordan Center on Feb. 20. But even though Penn State has matched up better against Ohio State this year, Washington said she won't be root- ing for the Buckeyes to win Thursday's matchup. "The reality is that if you're going to win the Big Ten tournament, you're going to have to play and beat some good teams," she said. "We just have a very healthy respect for everybody on our side of the bracket, and we'll prepare for every team with a high level of respect for what they can do." If the Lady Lions reach the semifinals, they will face either fourth-seeded Pur- due, fifth-seeded Iowa or 12th-seeded BIG TEN TOURNEY PREVIEW W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L Ready to rebound M A T T   H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M SENIOR PHOTO L to R: Seniors Maggie Lucas, Talia East, Dara Taylor and Ariel Edwards prepare for their final postseason run. Mark Selders

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