It will be a paramount pairing of two of the most notable women's basketball coaches in the history of the sport.

After advancing to the Sweet 16 of the 2003 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, the Penn State Lady Lions and Tennessee Lady Volunteers will square off this Saturday in Knoxville. The coaches, Penn State's Rene Portland and Tennessee's Pat Summitt, have already made contributions in setting a precedent for the sport of women's college basketball during their respective coaching tenures.

The respect each of the two basketball matriarchs has for each other runs deep.

"Certainly she's to be commended at building a great program at Penn State," Summitt said. "She's done an outstanding job."

Between the two, there is more than a half century worth of coaching experience. Between the two, there are over 1,400 wins. The road to coaching greatness has spanned decades and Portland said she was humbled by Summitt's accomplishments.

"We're both very happy to be coaching this game," Portland said. "That means we're still winning. We have great respect for what Pat has done. It's pretty unbelievable what she's done not only on the college scene but with women's basketball and general aspects like that."

Portland compared Summitt's accomplishments to a fellow Penn State colleague of hers who also has experienced multiple milestones in collegiate athletics, Joe Paterno.

"Personally, I just got number 600 and I thought that was pretty good until I ran into what [Paterno and Summitt] did," Portland said. "I don't see myself doing anything else other than this. It's really up to how many games I get to win."

Summitt has an astounding 818 wins, placing her on top of the women's coaching ranks in wins. With 621 victories, Portland ranks in the top 10 all time. Both show no signs of stopping either.

"You got two veteran coaches," Summitt said. "I watched Rene play at the college level. We're two veteran coaches that played the game about the same time and we're still in it trying to teach others to bring the competitiveness and the play."

Like Portland, Summitt attributes a lot of her success over the years to the high caliber of personnel that have been involved in her program both on and off the court.

"First of all, you win in life with people," Summitt said. "I've been able to stay at this because I've had a lot of wonderful and loyal support form the university and from our staff. We'd get down in the trenches and work everyday as if it were their own program. You only win the number of games we've won by having the great competitors that had the same goals and commitment of the programs and staff."

Despite the similarities, both Portland and Summitt do have their differences. On the court, Portland tends to be active and vocal, while Summitt walks the bench in a calm and collected manner.

However, the biggest difference lies in the fact that Portland has never won a national title.

Her Tennessee counterpart has accomplished the feat six times.