Just when about the majority of Penn State students will be getting up tomorrow, the No. 2 women's basketball team (23-1 and 14-1 in the Atlantic 10) will be playing West Virginia, (14-10, 9-6) at 11:45 in Morgantown.

Coach Rene Portland said the team can't worry about the time of the game because, "there's is noting we can do about it."

Portland added in a tournament in Hawaii a few years ago the team had to play at 9 a.m. Tommorow's game was scheduled in the morning because the West Virginia men's basketball team plays Temple later in the afternoon.

The Lady Lions have to remember the last time these two teams met the because they destroyed the Mountaineers, 106-60, on Jan. 26 at Rec Hall. However, Coach Rene Portland knows this game at the Mountaineers' house should be more challenging.

"They have everything to win and nothing to lose and certainly it could make one game save their season," Portland said. "They have always put great emphasis on the Penn State game."

The West Virginia games begins the final stretch of the regular season for the Lady Lions. After WVU, Penn State has two remaining away games -- George Washington (Feb. 28) and St. Joseph's (March 2).

So this game is crucial for the Lady Lions to begin the final road swing correctly: with a win.

As Portland always has said, if the Lady Lions take care of their business on the court the victory should soon follow. One advantage Penn State has over West Virginia is rest. The last game Penn State played was last Saturday against Massachusetts while the Lady Mountaineers defeated Duquesne, 80-49 last night.

"We have some nice rest and we have to feel positive going into these three games," she said.

But she added, "Your not going to tell (Rosemary) Kosiorek, (Donna) Abbott and (Lori) Wilson to lay down and play dead. We have to be prepared for a hard battle."

West Virginia coach Scott Harrelson has had an up-and-down season and his team needs a win badly.

"One game we are on top of our game and then in the middle of the game we are on a rollercoaster," he said.

Harrelson said one of the main problems the Lady Mountaineers have had this season is consistent scoring from players other than Kosiorek and Abbott. Kosiorek leads the team with a 20-point average while Abbott is averaging 15.8 ppg. For West Virginia to have any chance to win another player is going to have to step up and have a career game.

"The biggest difference between Penn State and West Virginia is that they are confident and we have been up-and-down," Harrelson said.

Harrelson broke the contest down to a simplistic level when discussing his strategy.

"We just have to go out and play basketball," he said. "Our goal is to score a few more baskets."

Notes: More kudos for Susan Robinson. On Feb. 18, she was selected to the GTE Academic All-America Team. Robinson carries a 3.35 average in Exercise and Sport Science. . . . At the press conference yesterday, Portland didn't know when she was going to have a 900 number like men's coach Bruce Parkhill; saying only that she had no comment.