State College, Pa., Feb. 11, 2002 -- Free throws and tenacious pressure helped fifth-ranked State College survive a serious threat from visiting Indiana.

The Little Lady Lions, who won their 14th straight game, needed two buckets from Katie Glusko, and free throws from Lisa Younkin and Katlyn Stupar to begin closing a four-point gap that separated the two teams for much of the final quarter.

Glusko nailed her 26th point on a hoop with 2:04 left bringing the Lions within three at 58-61. Stupar then made the second of two free throws and snatched an offensive rebound and banked it in to tie the score at 61 with 58.3 seconds to go.

State College applied plenty of pressure on the Indians which led to a steal by Nicole Scipione who was fouled by Alexis Antalis. Scipione watched her first attempt bounce up and in and swished the second to give the Lions their first lead (63-61) since the opening period.

Indiana rushed to get into position for the tying basket but State College tipped the ball out of bounds. Stupar was in the right place for the steal on the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled by Melissa Stewart with 10.3 seconds on the clock. Stupar made the second of two free throws and the game ended 64-61 after an Indiana turnover.

"Our strategy was knowing that our fourth quarter is our strongest," coach Bethany Irwin said. "We said at halftime let's just keep chipping away."

State College, 19-2, fell behind 17-12 in the first quarter and trailed 35-31 at the half thanks in part to Indiana's Kayla Lazor who tallied 14 points.

Indiana went on a 10-3 run to open the third quarter building what would be its biggest second half advantage at 45-34.

State College got the lead down to four by the end of the third period.

When State College made its late run the Lady Little Lions held Indiana scoreless after two free throws by Lazor. "Kaitlyn Stupar got some key rebounds for us," Irwin said. "We had to go with one post and four guards and hope that our speed and offense would kick in and it did." State College outscored Indiana 8-0 in the final 2:58.

Indiana ended its regular season with 21 wins and lost for only the third time this year. The Indians scoring leader was Lazor with 24 points. Jenna Raglani added 10 points and Nicole Sinclair had nine.

Glusko took game scoring honors with 26 points. Scipione had 15 points and Lisa Younkin had eight points including three huge free throws in the final period. State College plays at Bishop Guilfoyle on Wednesday then entertains Williamsport on Thursday. The final regular season game also is at home Feb. 20 with Hollidaysburg.

State College already has clinched first place in the Mountain League and is the No. 1 seed in the District 6 AAAA Playoffs.