There was some serious game-tracker watching last night as the topsy turvy season continued.

** steps up on soap box ** Is anyone else tired of people calling this a "down" season in women's basketball? Why can't there be some recognition that there's more talent on the court, patrolling the court, and going to a far more diverse group of programs? **

Okay, so -- yesterday:

1) I have fond memories of Coquese Washington during her New York Liberty/W days, so I'm glad to be able to cheer for her and her efforts to restore honor to the Penn State women's basketball program. They took a big step in defeating #23 (with an anchor) Michigan State, 68-60. That's four straight for the Lions (no pun intended.).

2) #13 Oklahoma surprised #8 Texas A&M ending the Aggies' 7 game win streak and treating the Sooner "white out" crowd to a 74-65 win.

"You're either going to get attacked or you can attack," Coale said. "It's one way or the other, so we really wanted to go at them. They got us on our heels just a little bit, around the 12-minute mark of the second half, but we came right back swinging and that was the difference."

3) Mississippi took down #15 LSU, 80-71, behind Bianca Thomas' 42 - yah, you read that right: 42 points on 50% shooting. (Hope Beth and Debbie were paying attention.)

4) NC State gave Florida State all they could handle, but Cierra Bravard hit a layup with 11 seconds left and added a free throw and the Seminoles escaped with the 74-71 win.

5) #4 Tennessee defeated #22 Vanderbilt, 64-57, but coach ain't happy:

"Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased we found a way to win, but our coaching staff doesn't want to be living on the edge the rest of this season," she said. "We want to separate ourselves from the rest of the pack."

Ohio State, Georgia and North Carolina all won. Have we noticed that the West Virginia team is poking around at #13? Their victory over Pittsburgh made it 15 wins in a row.