A week before the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, things were turned upside down in 4104 Nittany Apartments.

Literally.

The residence of Penn State women's basketball players Maren Walseth, Lisa Shepherd, Chrissy Falcone and team manager Colleen Christie had been ransacked by other Lady Lions as part of the traditional farewell pranks bestowed upon the graduating seniors.

Clothes and toothbrushes were among the items missing, while posters, banners and just about everything not bolted down had been removed from the walls, flipped over, and reattached.

It was just desserts for the four seniors, who have pulled their fair share of shenanigans on former teammates in the past, as well as a sign that the end of a long journey is near.

The Class of 2001 will try to extend that journey this weekend when Penn State heads south to Ruston, La., to meet TCU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. And when the Lions take the floor Saturday, they'll be led by Shepherd and Walseth, two close friends who weren't always that way.

"We didn't know each other's personalities," Shepherd said. "Maren's very sarcastic, and my first year I really didn't know that, and I would take everything personally."

The relationship was as strained on the court as off of it, according to Walseth.

"We didn't communicate very well," she said.

Shepherd and Walseth shared a lot of similarities at the outset of their Penn State careers. They were both highly touted Parade All-Americans who decided to cross state lines to come to Happy Valley.

The two first met during a Kodak All-America high school all-star game, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said.

"I think they're two different people coming from two different states," she said.

Shepherd hails from Richmond, Ind., where she was named Indiana's Miss Basketball in 1997. Walseth came to the Lions from Bloomington, Minn., where she was the 7th-ranked recruit in the nation. Perhaps it was a tinge of mutual envy that caused friction between the two.

"As freshmen, we didn't play the same position, but we had an attitude like, 'Well, I'm going to show her that this isn't getting to me'," Shepherd said.

The pair also had to adjust to sharing a dorm room together, a decision made by Walseth.

"My attitude was, 'If I have to be up at odd hours, then she's got to be too,'," she said. "I wanted to live with a basketball player, and I just think that, over the years, being on the same schedule, I think it's easier."

Some say that familiarity breeds contempt, and early on, Walseth and Shepherd would have been likely to agree.

"Our beds were so close, it was like, I'd roll over, and there's Maren's feet," Shepherd said.

Eventually, though, the two decided to put their differences aside in the best interests of the team, a choice that paid off tremendously. Going into Saturday, the senior class has compiled 93 wins, a WNIT title and the school's first-ever Final Four berth.

"All of a sudden they came back together when they realized there was a common bond with what they had to do and what they wanted to do here at Penn State," Portland said.

"And their progress on the court really has shown."

Not only have the two led the Lions to team successes, but both Shepherd and Walseth have enjoyed a number of individual accolades as well. Walseth was recently named a All-Big Ten selection by the conference's coaches for the second straight year, while Shepherd was a second-team All-Big Ten pick this season and is Penn State's all-time leader in three-pointers.

"The seniors have done a lot. The two major plaques that we have out at the BJC — both the NIT and the Final Four banners — were because of the both of them," Portland said.

Shepherd and Walseth have also come a long way as roommates. They now thoroughly enjoy each other's company — just about all of the time.

"Yeah, we get on each other's nerves. . . " Walseth said.

"But that's going to be with any roommate," Shepherd broke in.

The two have since added Falcone and Christie to the group, which is close-knit to say the least these days.

"We do everything together," Falcone said. "Not everything, but we go out together, share a lot of things together."

The girls said their favorite off-the-court activities include going to Baby's Burgers and Shakes, but as Falcone put it, it doesn't take much for the Lion seniors to entertain one another.

"We like to put on music and just sing to it," Falcone said, drawing appreciative laughter from her roommates.

But soon, whether the Lions lose this weekend or win the NCAA Championship on April 1, it will be closing time for Shepherd, Walseth and Falcone, who spent this season on the sidelines due to a third torn anterior cruciate ligament. Christie will resume her duties as manager next season and Walseth will go from the floor to the broadcasting booth to announce Lady Lion games for WRSC Radio, but things won't be quite the same, the group said.

"We'll still be around and I'm sure we're going to run into (teammates) next year but it will be different because we'll kind of be in the 'outside circle'," Walseth said.

"I'm going to miss my teammates," Shepherd said. "I think we're a funny bunch of girls when we get together — we laugh, we act crazy and I think that's the thing I'm going to miss."

That's the tough part about college basketball — as good as it may be, it can only last for four or five years.

"I'll miss the players," Christie said. "Hanging out with them and being friends with them. That's the coolest part of being a manager — you get to know the girls on a personal basis."

When Walseth takes the floor this weekend, you can be sure she'll be savoring every moment, as well as the knowledge of what she and her roommates have been through together.

"You kind of want to soak it all in," she said. "There's been so many memories."