EVANSTON, Ill. — Penn State doesn’t need a bunch of what-ifs, tiebreakers or mathematical formulas to figure out the Big Ten women’s basketball race.

After knocking off Northwestern 77-63 on Sunday, the Lady Lions find themselves atop the Big Ten standings and to finish there for the first time since 2004 the formula is simple.

“We have three games left and it’s all in our control,” Penn State coach Coquese Washington said. “We don’t have to worry about what other people do. We just have to worry about Penn State and Lady Lion basketball. That’s a great position to be in.

It’s a testament to the work these kids have put in, the dedication they’ve put in to playing hard and staying focused. But, we’re not there yet. We’ve got to finish the season strong.”

The No. 18 Lady Lions (20-5 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) got several strong all-around performances to bounce ailing Northwestern. Alex Bentley led the four teammates in double figures with 18 points. Zhaque Gray added 17 points and a career-high six assists, while Maggie Lucas (11 points) tied career highs with nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

The Lady Lions now own a slim half-game lead over Ohio State (9-3) and Purdue (9-3). Nebraska (8-3) plays at Minnesota tonight. The No. 10 Buckeyes knocked the No. 16 Boilermakers out of the lead with an 80-71 victory. Penn State’s next two games are at Purdue (Thursday) and at the Bryce Jordan Center with Ohio State (Feb. 20).

Hypothetically speaking before her team boarded a charter an hour prior to the Ohio State-Purdue clash, Washington said being in the Big Ten lead would be nice, but “I’d rather be No. 1 three weeks from now.”

Penn State got a big lift Sunday from Gray, who slumped recently. Gray, averaging just 5.7 points over the previous seven games, was 8-for-15 from the floor against the Wildcats.

“She hasn’t been making as much as she’s capable of, but I’ve been encouraging her to keep shooting,” Washington said of Gray. “‘You’re a great shooter and have a great stroke.’ She found the rhythm today.”

The Wildcats (13-12, 3-9) led just once at 3-2, but the Lady Lions followed with a 15-2 run to take the lead for good. Behind nine points from Lucas and eight from Bentley, the Lady Lions extended the margin to 41-26 at halftime.

Penn State opened the second half with a 7-2 run to push the lead to 21 points, but Northwestern refused to be blown out. While the Wildcats shot poorly (33 percent for the game), they racked up 21 offensive rebounds and fired up 73 shots.

“They played a small lineup so sometimes we had our posts having to run around out there on the perimeter,” Washington said. “Sometimes people got free when we got mixed up.”

The Wildcats got within 12 points on multiple occasions, but could not cut the deficit into single digits.

Bentley made several big shots when Northwestern threatened.

“Especially late in the game, I thought Alex did a really good job of taking the team on her shoulders and making the plays whether it was a pass or a shot,” Washington said. “She did a really good job at keeping that distance.”

And by doing so, Penn State reached 20 wins for the second consecutive season and improved its conference road record to 6-1.

“Winning on the road is not easy,” Washington said. “I don’t care who you play. I don’t care what their record is.”

And the secret to the Lady Lions’ best league road record since 2004?

“I think it’s a determination to execute our game-plan, not to focus on the crowd or anything else,” Washington said. “I think we have a team that has a lot of confidence in themselves and each other. They know as long as we play our game, we’ll have a shot.”

Nikki Greene, saddled by foul trouble, had 10 points and nine rebounds. Talia East came off the bench to grab a game-high 10 boards.

Morgan Jones had 20 points and Kendall Hackney added 15 for the Wildcats, but the two were a combined 14-for-44 from the floor. Northwestern played without starting center Dannielle Diamant, who suffered a concussion in Thursday’s loss to Michigan State. Starter Karly Roser left in the second half and did not return.

“I though we battled hard, and competed but they're tough to shut down because they can get you in so many ways,” Northwestern coach Joe McKeown said in his postgame news conference. “They’re really hard to contend with because they’re so talented.”

“We were in control of the game throughout,” Washington said. “I’m pleased we were able to come away with the win.”

A triumph that put the preseason conference favorites in first place for the first time this season.

“We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Washington said. “We’ll take a peak at the big picture, but we’re really focused on the next challenge. And, the next challenge before us is Purdue.”

Notes: Penn State has reached 20 wins for the 24th time in school history and Sunday’s triumph was the 825 in program history. ... Penn State improved to 30-7 against the Wildcats. ... Forward Marisa Wolfe missed her fourth consecutive game with concussion-like symptoms.