When the women's basketball team steps onto the hardwood for its Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinal matchup with West Virginia (20-7) at 7:30 tonight at Rec Hall, it will have a lot going its way.

Consider:

-- The Lady Lions hold 20-5 advantage against the Mountaineers and have never lost to them in Rec Hall (12-0).

-- The Lady Lions have Lady Luck by their side as well, winning the coin flip to get the home court advantage.

-- The Lady Lions are in a similar position as the men's team in A-10 play. The Lions knocked off No. 13 West Virginia Monday night to earn a trip to Rutgers for the A-10 championship game. With a win against West Virginia tonight, the Lady Lions will also travel to Piscataway, N.J., this weekend.

-- Like the men's team, the Lady Lions' only prayer at making the NCAA tournament is an A-10 title. And Coach Rene Portland's squad will have a greater incentive knowing that its season can end this week.

"There's no tomorrow's now," Portland said. "During the season we'd lose and we'd say let's rip that loss apart and get ready for the next day. We have to be ready for every game and we have to be really hyped."

After muddling along for most of the season, the Lady Lions poured it on at the end, winning five straight games until they were stung with a 79-73 loss to Rutgers in the final game of the regular season.

"At least now I know what I have to work with (going into the playoffs)," Portland said. "At the beginning of the year I had no clue what I had. Now when I'm going into my second season I know what I have and I like what I have."

Portland must have liked what she saw from the low post play of Kathy Phillips, who filled in for starter Adrie DeVries in the Lady Lions' last meeting with West Viginia. The freshman center dumped in 24 points and hauled down 17 rebounds to lead the Lady Lions to a 70-61 victory at Rec Hall.

"I think it will be close to the same type of game," Phillips said. "Since we got the home court advantage and the luck of the draw they'll be out to get us, but we'll be ready for them."

The Lady Mountaineers will be giving up some height down low with 6-0 freshman center Donna Abbott matching up with the 6-4 DeVries and the 6-3 Phillips.

"We certainly have a height advantage and we'll definitely try to exploit it," Portland said. "(Against West Virginia) was Kathy's biggest game. I think Adrie had every shot she wanted against Rutgers and didn't make it. I think she just needs to relax when she gets in there."

With three freshmen starting in their first playoff game, there might be some skeptics who say that they won't be able to handle the pressure of big-time college basketball post-season play. But so far they show no signs backing down.

"I was pleased with the way they reacted to the Rutgers game," Portland said. "I felt that was a test for them and I'm pleased we'll have the goal to get back at them. They did't even flinch down there. I can't think of a game where something was supposed to get them and it got them.

"The mystique of things hasn't set in yet because they are so young and they haven't experienced anything like it. They haven't been afraid of anybody this year and have gone into each game with no fears and I think that's how they are going into this one."