MADISON, Wis. - Morgan Paige scored a career-high 33 points to lead Wisconsin to a 63-61 upset over seventh-ranked Penn State.
Tiera Stephens scored the game-winning basket on a putback with 5 seconds left at the Kohl Center for the Badgers, who stopped the Nittany Lions' 11-game winning streak.
Alex Bentley drove the length of the floor and missed a layup at the buzzer for Penn State (17-3, 7-1).
Stephens scored five points and had 11 rebounds and Jacki Gulczynski added 16 for Wisconsin (10-11, 2-6 Big Ten). The victory against a ranked opponent was the Badgers' first since a 48-45 win against No. 20 Michigan State on January 14, 2010.
Maggie Lucas scored 18 points and Mia Nickson added 11 for the Lady Lions, who throttled the Badgers 84-40 at home two weeks ago for their most lopsided victory since 2001.
Wisconsin raced to a 17-6 lead in the first 8 minutes of the game, but Penn State was able to chip away at the lead during a four-minute plus scoring drought. Lucas and Dara Taylor combined for seven points during a 13-0 run that gave Penn State the lead going into the break at 33-29.
Penn State led by as many as seven points early in the second half, but Wisconsin never far behind. With every mini run the Nittany Lions strung together, the Badgers would answer with a key steal or basket.
Wisconsin wrestled the lead back at 55-53 when Gulczynski made a 3-pointer at the top of the key, but Lucas came back on the other end to drain a long-range shot.
PENN ST. (17-3): Nickson 4-8 3-4 11, Greene 0-2 1-4 1, Taylor 4-9 0-0 10, Bentley 4-16 0-0 9, Lucas 7-12 0-0 18, Agee 0-1 0-0 0, East 0-0 1-2 1, Edwards 2-5 2-2 7, Studevent 1-2 0-0 2, Waldner 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-56 7-12 61.
WISCONSIN (10-11): Rochel 2-3 1-3 5, Bauman 0-2 3-4 3, Paige 11-19 6-10 33, Stephen 2-6 1-3 5, Gulczynski 6-9 0-0 16, Whyte 0-3 1-2 1, Cichy 0-0 0-0 0, Kryuchkova 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-42 12-22 63.
Halftime-Penn St. 33-29. 3-Point Goals-Penn St. 8-11 (Lucas 4-6, Taylor 2-2, Edwards 1-1, Bentley 1-2), Wisconsin 9-18 (Paige 5-10, Gulczynski 4-5, Whyte 0-1, Bauman 0-2). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Penn St. 31 (Greene, Nickson 6), Wisconsin 29 (Stephen 11). Assists-Penn St. 11 (Bentley 4), Wisconsin 13 (Whyte 4). Total Fouls-Penn St. 21, Wisconsin 13. A-3,602.
