For Rene Portland, happy days are here again in Hoops Valley.

The Penn State women's basketball coach saw her team utilize The Bryce Jordan Center as a deadly weapon last night, as the Lady Lions won their second round NCAA Tournament game 96-79 over Florida International. The Lions now advance to the Sweet 16 and will travel to Milwaukee to face the winner of tomorrow night's Connecticut-Iowa game.

Penn State outplayed the Golden Panthers in almost every category and put together possibly their best overall team performance of the season. The cohesive play was highlighted by many impressive personal performances.

Take Kelly Mazzante. Not only did she throw daggers into the Panthers' hearts by hitting three-point shots from almost half court, but by scoring her 32 points she also bested Anucha Browne's single season Big Ten points record of 855. Browne set the former record in 1985 as a member of Northwestern.

Then there was Tanisha Wright. The freshman guard scored a career-high 26 points by making acrobatic layups from impossible angles. Her fellow freshman guard Jess Strom also played well, producing 14 assists (also a career record).

As great as the performances of those players and others were, one of the most influential factors of the game was the sixth woman — the crowd.

"Whoever they were — young, old, students — they were very vocal and it is neat to be able to call on them," Portland said. "I have been in Beaver Stadium when it has gone nuts, and I know what that means. I am happy I have been able to convert the Jordan Center into a very special place."

At certain times during the game, Portland was able to raise her arms to the crowd, asking for support for her team. She received exactly what she was looking for when the crowd rained down cheers that were reminiscent of the Lions' old days in Rec Hall.

The crowd may have been loudest when Mazzante was draining her bombs. Many times her treys put a stop to any momentum that the Panthers were building.

Those shots helped negate what was otherwise a solid performance by the Panthers. Florida International women's basketball coach Cindy Russo said that her team played well in most aspects, but that there was one that they could have improved on.

"I think we had some good game plans," Russo said. "We obviously did not do a good job defensively."

The Panthers did have some good offensive performances. Four players scored in double-figures, including Cormisha Cotton who led the team with 20.

Florida International guard Anita Heller, who scored 16 points, said that she wished she did a few things differently in regards to defending Strom.

"I thought maybe I should have put more pressure on her because I didn't think that she was that great of a ball handler," Heller said.

Strom and her teammates came out strong in the first half, something that the Lions made a point of doing after Friday's first round win over Chattanooga.

In that game Penn State found itself down by five points after the first half. As they have done all season the Lions were able to kick it into high gear in the second half and walk away with an 82-67 win.

Last night they played well in both halves. The hard play from start to finish gave the Lions another big win in the Jordan Center, something that Portland loved to see.

"We are very thrilled," Portland said. "Happy days are here again in State College for us. We are ecstatic to be going to the Sweet 16."