State College, Pa., Dec. 14,2002 --

State College won a milestone victory for coach Bethany Irwin when it defeated visiting Erie McDowell 81-54 today.

The Lady Little Lions raised their season mark to 2-0 and pushed Irwin's career record to 200-94.

Irwin coached three years at Bellefonte (34-29) before moving to State College where she's 166-65 in her 10th season.

"It's nice to get something like that," Irwin said. "The kids that have built the foundation of the program, they're the ones that got that."

Irwin's Lions made sure their coach would have something to celebrate. The 81 points scored against the 3-5 Trojans ranks 11th all-time on her State College program's career scoring chart and matches an 81-point effort against Punsxutawney in 1996.

State College opened today's contest outscoring Erie McDowell 18-6 in the first quarter. Junior Katlyn Stupar scored nine points in the opening stanza.

The Trojans gained ground in the second period coming as close as eight points (28-20) after Rachel Slonski's trey with 3:34 remaining in the half.

But seniors Nicole Scipione and Suzy Carlson shifted into high gear scoring 13 of State's next 19 points.

Irwin thought the seven day layoff was a factor. "We're still trying to get those little kinks out and we're trying to get the right combinations in the game," she said. "But when push comes to shove, they know what they're doing."

Scipione led all scorers with 20 points. She was one of the five starters who reached double figures. Stupar finished with 14 points while Carlson and senior Liz Gabrielle each scored 13 points. Junior Sarah O'Shea swished a team-high three 3-pointers on the way to 11 points.

For the second straight contest, State College flustered an opponent with its pressing defense. Against Erie McDowellthe Lions made nine steals. State College also collected 20 rebounds including 12 on the defensive end of the floor.

Slomski led Erie McDowell with 18 points. Cory Merryman was the only other Trojan in double figures with 10 points.

State College will be at Hollidaysburg Monday for a makeup game rescheduled after Wednesday's ice storm. North Schuylkill visits on Wednesday with another makeup game slated for Friday at Indiana.

State College's junior varsity won its second straight game by a large margin with a 68-26 victory over the Erie McDowell JV. Kelly Ashcraft had 14 points and Liz Miller added 11 points to lead the scoring effort. The JV won its 61st straight game for coach Rob Irwin.