The Lady Lion Basketball team will open the 2003-04 season ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, earning their third pre-season Top 10 ranking.

Penn State, the 2003 Big Ten Champion, is the highest rated Big Ten team in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Purdue is No. 9, Minnesota is No. 13 and Ohio State is No. 15.

Coach Rene Portland's squad previously was tabbed No. 6 in Athlon's pre-season Top 25 while Street & Smith's pegged Penn State at No. 9.

The Associated Press preseason poll has not been released.

Penn State returns its starting five and a total of eight letterwinners from last year's 26-9 squad that lost to national runner-up Tennessee in the NCAA Sweet 16.

The Lady Lions will be led by National Player of the Year candidate Kelly Mazzante, who enters the 2003-04 campaign just 16 points shy of becoming the Lady Lions' all-time leading scorer.

The two-time Kodak All-America choice also is within 341 points of becoming the top scorer in Big Ten history. The reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, Mazzante enters the season having scored 2,238 points in her superlative career.