The five-game, five-state road trip is finally over, but it might take a day or two for the women's basketball team to get used to a practice minus jetlag.

"We know that we're going to be travelling (this season) and we're getting used to that," forward Susan Robinson said. "But we were a little tired at Minnesota."

The eighth-ranked Lady Lions' 75-64 win at Minnesota Sunday marked their last road trip until Jan. 30.

Now, Penn State can't help but welcome the opportunity to stay put (for two weeks, anyway) for a four-game home swing that begins Friday with Depaul.

"Having these four games at home is extremely important, because we've been up and down," Assistant Coach Dan Durkin said. "We'd like to get on a bit of a roll here."

Four straight games at Rec Hall couldn't have been any better scheduled. Penn State enters Friday's matchup with a three-game win streak, which matches a season high. Third-ranked Maryland and No. 2 Tennessee each prevented the Lady Lions from ever getting over that plateau.

But before Penn State can get too cozy in its confines, the team is evaluating what it observed during a seemingly endless 3-2 roadtrip.

Unfortunately, the sight that sticks out the most is that of opponents reaching the boards first. On the trip, Penn State outrebounded only Temple and Illinois.

"We're disappointed and embarrassed by some of the things that have happened on the rebounding end," Durkin said.

The Lady Lions' 82-81 loss to the Lady Volunteers Dec. 28 probably epitomizes a rebounding embarrassment. Tennessee controlled the boards 51-38 and grabbed 35 offensive rebounds alone -- including the one that resulted in the winning score with three seconds to play.

"We were boxing out but we weren't going after the ball a lot. . .," Robinson said. "I think a lot of it is just pride. We have to get that mentality back."

Last season, that mentality helped Penn State outrebound opponents by an average of almost 10 per game, while the team earned a Top 10 ranking in the nation in that statistic.

But sometimes size suffocates pride, as it did at Tennessee and Iowa.

While scouting the Lady Vols and the Hawkeyes, Durkin said he anticipated a problem with the widebodies on both teams.

"We thought we were going to get banged around pretty good in that regard," he said. "But rebounding is not only technique, it's a desire and a mindset. We've been pretty sloppy with the desire and mindset."

To address the problem, the Lady Lions began working to improve the basics, as well as their leaps, before the Minnesota game. As a result, Penn State returned to last year's form on the glass against the Golden Gophers and outrebounded them 47-40, with Robinson pulling down a season-high 16.

A similar performance is expected in each game of the homestand.

"We have to outrebound everybody at home and take care of the ball," Robinson said.

Notes:

Robinson, now second on Penn State's all-time scoring list, needs just 101 points to pass all-time leader Kahadeejah Herbert. "(Coach) Rene (Portland) is probably more exicted than I am," Robinson said. "I try not to think about it. If it comes, it comes." . . . Friday's meeting will be the Lady Lions' first against the Blue Demons since Dec. 7, 1980.