For the second year in a row, Penn State Coach Rene Portland is making her displeasure known prior to hosting a big, nationally televised women's basketball game.

During the week before the Iowa-Penn State game last year, Portland criticized the University's sports information office for its promotion of women's basketball.

Yesterday, she criticized the office again, saying she has seen "very little" promotion for tomorrow's home game against Purdue. The marketing campaign, "Pack-the-Track II," is aimed at breaking the Lady Lions' attendance record.

Portland said she was going to hold back her comments on the promotions office because the sports information representatives claim they have done the necessary marketing to draw a sellout Rec Hall crowd.

But, she added, "I see very little, to be quite honest. I'm going to scream if that place isn't packed on Saturday."

Frank Giardina, Penn State's director of marketing and promotions for athletics, said the sports information office has spent a lot of time promoting tomorrow's game, which features the No. 10 Lady Lions and the No. 19 Boilermakers in a 1 p.m. showdown that CBS will televise live nationwide.

"All of us will be frustrated if the place is not packed," Giardina said. "I wouldn't criticize what Coach Portland said, but we have put forth a statewide effort in promotions for this game. We feel good about it. We hope it's packed in Rec Hall, and we've certainly tried to ensure that."

The promotional effort involved advertising in newspapers and on radio stations statewide, he said, adding that announcements have been made at other Penn State sporting events.

Another incentive aimed at attracting students will be a halftime contest. Three students, whose names will be randomly drawn, will participate in a shootout to win a trip for four to Panama City, Fla.

Sports information representatives have also designed and distributed promotional fliers. But Portland said that is not enough.

"One flier, to me, doesn't do the trick," she said. "They're telling me they want to do (another) 'pack-the-track' for Iowa. Let's sell Purdue first."

Portland's criticism is fueled by the fact that CBS is coming to town. This will be the first Penn State basketball game -- men's or women's -- nationally televised by the network.

"(CBS) wants to know how many tickets are sold; they keep calling and asking," Portland said. "If they don't see the place packed, they're not going to come back in the future."

As of Wednesday, about 2,700 advance tickets -- including the 1,800 season tickets -- had been sold, said Bud Meredith, athletic ticket manager. Including standing room, Rec Hall has a capacity of about 7,400.

Last February, the Lady Lions broke their attendance record with a crowd of 7,264 during a nationally televised game. That game pitted a No. 1 Penn State team against then-No. 8 Iowa on ESPN.

During the week preceding that game, Portland had criticized the sports information office for its overall marketing efforts of women's athletics, saying she would not be at peace until a better job was done.

With Portland raising concerns again this year, Giardina said his office has made efforts to improve the visibility of every sport, including marquee programs like women's basketball.

"Every year we try to get better," he said. "We have made efforts, rather successfully, to improve the radio and television coverage of women's basketball. During the last couple of years, we've even doubled our season ticket sales."

However, this season's attendance figures have fallen for women's basketball games, said Kathy Cafazzo, the team's sports information representative.

"We really haven't had the big Big Ten games yet, so that may be the reason," she added.

Tomorrow will be one of the season's biggest conference games, similar in magnitude to the Iowa sellout last year, when the promotion succeeded with its campaign to "pack-the-track."

But "Pack-the-Track II" has not shown the advance fan interest that the Iowa game did. Early demand for tickets was so high prior to the Iowa game that the athletic department had to distribute seat designation tickets to students. Meredith said the low ticket sales do not necessitate doing that tomorrow.

Still, the players are not letting that dampen their mood. Co-captain Tina Nicholson said she is excited about playing on CBS.

"I like the lights. I like the exposure," she said. "I'm going to have a good time."