INDIANAPOLIS -- Heather Cassady scored 21 points and Erin McGinnis added 17 as Indiana upset No. 23 Penn State 75-72 Monday night to win the Big Ten tournament championship and earn its first NCAA bid since 1995.

	Kathi Bennett, far right, and Indiana haven't lost since the coach suffered a broken neck in an auto accident Feb. 8.

The victory capped an improbable run of upsets for the Hoosiers (17-13), the first fifth-seeded team to reach the tournament final. They started with a 78-76 overtime win against fourth-seeded Iowa then beat No. 1 seed Purdue 55-41.

Indiana was up by 12 with 4:20 remaining before Penn State, led by Big Ten scoring leader Kelly Mazzante, went on a 22-12 run to pull to 74-72. But the Hoosiers managed to hold on for the win.

Mazzante, who scored 64 points the first two games, hit a 3 with 2:09 left to make it 64-57. Consecutive 3-pointers by Rashana Barnes and Jess Strom made it 73-67 with 18 seconds to go, and another 3 by Mazzante cut it to 74-70.

Jessica Brungo forced a turnover for the Lady Lions (21-11) leading to a 3-point attempt for Mazzante, who was fouled. She made two of three free throws to make it 74-72 with 4.2 seconds to go.

Indiana's Jill Chapman made one of two free throws and Penn State could not get a final shot off.

Mazzante finished with 22 points for Penn State. Tanisha Wright had 18, Barnes had 15 and 10 rebounds and Jacquelynn Shook had 10 rebounds.

The Hoosiers' six-point halftime lead was cut to 41-40 following a basket by Wright 5 minutes into the second.

Indiana answered with a 12-1 run as Chapman, who was scoreless in the first half after scoring 38 points in the first two games, scored four points in that span and gave Indiana its first double-digit lead.

Another basket by Chapman made it 57-43 with 8:10 remaining.

Erin McGinnis had 17 points and Chapman finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Cassady, selected the tournament MVP, scored 14 points in the first 13 minutes, including a 3-pointer that put Indiana ahead 22-19. They led by as many as nine and took a 36-30 lead at the half.

Penn State lost the same day it entered the Top 25 for the first time since late December. The Lady Lions won eight of their last 10 regular-season games, then beat Ohio State and Wisconsin in the tournament.

The Lady Lions won the tournament in 1995 and `96, and lost in `98 and 2000.