Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 15, 1991 TAG: 9103150269
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STATE COLLEGE, PA. LENGTH: Medium
The only thing they don't have is a national championship. They start on that goal Saturday.
"I don't mind them looking ahead. I believe you have to look at the big picture," coach Rene Portland said this week at her Recreation Building office, which once belonged to Joe Paterno.
"I tell them if they want to play Virginia at the semifinals, then picture playing Virginia in the semifinals - but realize you have to play and win two games to get there."
The team's first game in the NCAA Women's Tournament is Saturday at home against James Madison. The winner advances to the regional semifinals in Philadelphia.
The Lady Lions' 29-1 record is the best in women's basketball. Their only loss was on the road to Rutgers, 84-70, when the team fell apart in the second half.
"We were intimidated. We let the crowd get to us. We played like we were afraid to lose," Portland said.
"After Rutgers, we decided we didn't want any more losses the rest of the season," said Susan Robinson, the Lady Lions' All-America center. "We didn't want to feel that way ever again."
Portland said, "It felt like March. Like the season was over."
Usually, though, Penn State was annihilating its opponents during the 1990-91 season. Massachusetts, playing at home, fell 95-27. After the game its coach thanked Portland openly for keeping the score down.
"At that point, you have to make sure your players behave. I tell them remember who you are and what you represent," Portland said. The team was told to run a basic offense.
There were 13 other massacres by 31 points or more. In addition to victories of 68 and 49 points over Massachusetts, Penn State beat Rhode Island by 65 and 46, Duquesne by 53 and 41, Ohio State by 54, West Virginia by 46, Temple by 38, American by 37, St. Joseph's by 36, Syracuse by 34 and Pittsburgh by 31.
"We won't embarrass anybody. What goes around comes around. Two years ago, we were 14-14 and not a good basketball team," Portland said. That was the only year Penn State did not send a team to the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Paterno, then athletic director, hired Portland 11 years ago in the same office where Penn State's women's basketball program is headquartered. Portland remembers where she sat and points out the chair that appears to have the same upholstery it did in 1980.
"It's obvious women's basketball is the flagship of this program, just like football is the flagship for the men's program," said Portland, who played forward at Immaculata, a three-time national champion during her playing days. said.
by CNB