Freshman Lady Lion forward Rochelle Johnson laid it all out on the table when asked about preseason conditioning.

"College basketball [conditioning] is a whole other -- forget level -- it is a whole other world," she said.

But she could have been talking about college basketball in general, as this fall, she and three other freshmen -- center Reicina Russell, forward Amanda Brown, and guard Jennifer Harris -- have stepped into a whole new world as the newest members of the Penn State women's basketball team.

Joining a squad that returns five starters from last season's Sweet 16 team, the freshmen have entered a program that not only requires them to take a step up from high school ball, but that has sky-high expectations for the coming season. And the freshmen are expected to find their niche on the team and be a part of those goals.

"This freshman class really has the potential, and they have the credentials to fight," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said. "And that's what they need to do -- they need to fight to allow our team to be better."

When Portland says the freshmen have the credentials to fight, she means it. Harris was named a McDonald's All-American. Brown was a three time Nike All-American. Johnson was ranked as one of the top 50 centers in the nation by All-Star Girls Report. Russell was selected as the 19th best senior in the class of 2003 by Full Court Press. And that is just the beginning.

This winter, the freshmen will look to springboard off their successful high school careers and find their place among a skilled and proven group of upperclassmen. Though cracking into the starting lineup would be a difficult task, fight from the four will likely result in playing time.

Portland has already said that Harris will see the court early. And of the newcomers, she has been most impressed with Brown, who, along with Russell and Johnson, could help bring a more dominant post presence to the floor.

"We brought in three new post players and we'll definitely try our best to help out the rebounding," Brown said. "I think it'll step up this year."

And any fight from the freshmen is welcomed by the upperclassmen, who recognize the ability of the new class and have been working to bring the first year players along with the rest of the team.

"The biggest thing about the freshmen is that they're good," junior forward Hazel Joseph said. "We just let them know that it's a process, and that they're doing really well."

As for fitting into the chemistry of the team, the freshmen are also excelling.

"They're adapting to us really well," Joseph said. "They fit in perfectly."

And the freshmen could not agree more.

"We just stepped right into the circle and were totally accepted," Russell said, with a huge grin across her face. "If I have a problem, I can go to any one of these girls and be like, 'I feel like this and this is going on,' and no one will ever look at me like 'Why are you talking to me?' It has been the best transition ever, I would say, in switching to a team and being accepted."

Part of meshing with the upperclassmen has included adopting their lofty goals for the season. But for the newcomers, high expectations are simply another part of wearing the blue and white.

"I know [our team is] expected to do great things," Russell said. "But I also know it's just a part of being a Lady Lion to go out there, play hard, work hard and win."