Amid the plethora of injuries and somewhere beyond the medical tape and bandages, Coach Rene Portland has actually noticed some bright spots coming out of the women's basketball team's daily practices.

The three that have done a fair share of glimmering lately are junior point-guard Jenny Kretchmar, sophomore guard Jackie Donovan and redshirt freshman Missy Masley, who give their coach a welcomed break from the ever-present injury discussions.

"What I think is a very positive thing in this whole mess is the play of Jenny Kretchmar," Portland said."I think Jenny played the best that I've seen her play in the scrimmage on Sunday night. Missy Masley played the best I've ever seen Missy play in the scrimmage Sunday night.

"Jackie Donovan, though she was injured, showed that there is a lot of competition for that two spot (shooting guard) -- the only spot that we really have open on this team."

Because Dana Eikenberg has been hampered with achilles tendonitis, Kretchmar has gained a lot of valuable practice time running the point. And the State College native has made the most of it.

"The experience I've gotten over the last two weeks has helped a lot -- just having the time to play with the starters and getting my confidence a little bit," Kretchmar said.

For the past two seasons, Kretchmar has played an important backup to Eikenberg at the point. Last year, she appeared in all 31 games, averaging 3.6 points.

Although she converted almost 32 percent of her 3-point attempts last season, Kretchmar's shot behind the stripe has improved, Portland said, as well as her timing and decision making.

"I think Jen has just used the time she has had with last year's starters as quality," Portland said. "I think the improvement that we're seeing is more consistency in her 3-point shooting."

Donovan, who suffered a slight knee injury in Saturday's practice, should be another Lady Lion 3-point threat this season. Although she saw action in only 19 games last year, Donovan gained quite a bit from watching the veterans on the floor.

"Last year, I learned a lot from the players that were out there . . . and this year, I try not not to do as much of the old, but just play the way that I learned from them," Donovan said.

Donovan converted on only 4-of-22 attempts beyond the 3-point stripe in her freshman campaign, but the Stratford, N. J. native said she now feels "a lot better" shooting the 19-foot jumper.

While Kretchmar and Donovan have helped deepen the Penn State guard positions, Masley has helped bolster the center spot.

An injured right shoulder limited the 6-foot-2-inch Masley to just six games of action last season. But the former Parade magazine second-team high school All-American is not bitter about missing out on the brunt of the 29-2 season.

"Actually, I'm lucky to have had that happen because I got the redshirt year and it (the injury) made me use my left hand for an entire year," Masley said.

Over the summer, Masley spent a lot of time in the weight room and continued to work on improving her left hand. The countless hours of iron pumping, Masley said, have made a big change from last season and she no longer "has to think" when going to the left hand.

However, Masley still struggled a bit through the first few practices -- primarily with playing under control.

"It was not really until last Sunday that I saw her playing with a little more control," Portland said. "She's very aggressive and if she controls that aggressiveness and funnels it in the right direction, it will be great for us heading into the Big Ten."

But Portland expects that Masley -- as well as Kretchmar and Donovan -- will be influential for the Lady Lions this season too.

Like last year, Penn State will rely heavily on its bench to produce quality minutes and to better last season's average of 30.8 points-per-game.

"I really think our bench will contribute a lot," Portland said.

It will get its first chance against a rather formidable opponent. The Lady Lions will host the Cuban National Team at Rec Hall Monday night -- the same Cuban team that knocked off the United States this past summer in the Pan American Games.

"It's going to be a challenge, but that's what we're looking for," Donovan said. "It will make us better for the games to come."