A young team always needs a little confidence and nothing breeds confidence like winning.

Penn State women's basketball star Kelly Mazzante knows this and she realizes that the best thing her team can do right now is go out and win its next game.

"Seeing our team lose is very frustrating," Mazzante said. "I am going to have to keep my head up and stay as positive as I can with them until we start winning and they understand how important it is for everyone to step up, too."

Penn State hopes that the winning starts tonight when the Lady Lions (9-7, 1-2 Big Ten) host Indiana at 7 p.m. in The Bryce Jordan Center.

The Lady Lions are coming off consecutive losses to No. 6 Vanderbilt and conference rival Illinois. Those losses helped knock the Lions out of the top 25 for the first time this season.

A major reason that the Lions have faltered of late is their transition game. Lack of effort to get up and down the court has led to the opposition getting some uncontested baskets.

"We got killed on transition by Vanderbilt and that is how (Chantelle) Anderson got away from us," said head coach Rene Portland. "Our transition defense in the last two games has left a lot to be desired and a lot is because of the lack of hustle of our post players to get up the floor."

Anderson was a major force at the center position for Vanderbilt. Tonight the Lions will have to worry about Indiana's Jill Chapman. The senior center has led the Hoosiers in scoring and rebounding for three straight seasons and has proved to be a major cog for the Hoosiers again this year.

Portland said that Chapman is not only a problem because of her ability but also because she can free up senior forward Erin McGinnis, a good player in her own right.

"She presents a big problem because of McGinnis being the other post player," Portland said. "McGinnis runs the

floor so well."

Indiana is a team that is trying to find itself in the ever-changing Big Ten. The Hoosiers are 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Indiana head coach Kathi Bennett said her players must continue to gain confidence as the season continues.

With both teams in similar situations this game could help clear the cloudy Big Ten picture. With only one undefeated team and six with two or more losses, it is still anybody's regular season title. Portland has been trying to stress that point to her team.

"We have two losses in a conference that has a lot of teams with two losses," Portland said. "I wish we didn't have them but we can still win the league with two losses."

A win tonight could go a long way toward giving the Lady Lions the confidence they need to do that.