State College, Pa., Dec. 23, 2002 --

State College assistant coach Rob Irwin just shook his head and said, "I don't think I've ever seen a third quarter like that."

This from a man whose junior varsity team had just won its 65th straight game after a 55-point victory over Woodland Hills' JV team.

That set the stage for coach Bethany Irwin's Lady Little Lion varsity to romp to its sixth straight win after an 89-35 pounding of the Wolverine varsity whose record fell to 2-9.

The State College win was the 499th in the program's 37-year history setting up the possibility of the historic 500th win happening at home on Friday when the Lions host Abington in the opening round of the Kiwanis Holiday Tournament.

But back to that vital 37-point third quarter. The Lions led by nine (32-21) at intermission before something magical happened.

Junior Sarah O'Shea, playing her first season as a varsity starter, ripped off five 3-point baskets and dropped in four of four at the line for 19 of her game and career high 27 points.

Carly Onkotz, another junior, came off the bench to hit a deuce followed by a three, another deuce and a three-point play for 10 more points.

With 3:33 left in the third period the play-by-play read like this: O'Shea for three, Onkotz for two, O'Shea for three, Onkotz for three, Onkotz for two, O'Shea two free throws, Onkotz a three-point play, Nicole Scipione two free throws, O'Shea two free throws. Woodland Hills did not score from the 5:41 mark on.

"I think our defense kept us in that game," Irwin said of her team's early sluggishness. "At halftime offensively we were only shooting 37 percent. We're usually shooting 46 or 50 something."

Irwin said O'Shea's huge third quarter came with help. "They got her the ball and she felt the stroke so we were happy that someone was putting it in," Irwin said.

Monique Duck led the Wolverines with 18 points and Antoinette Gomez tallied nine points. Woodland Hills made only one of nine free throws.

The State College JV won 72-17 with 11 players sharing the scoring led by Sarah Grove with 12 points and Jessie Serafin with 11.

The 89 points by the varsity was the fifth highest during Bethany Irwin's 10-year coaching career at State College.