Womens Basketball

Before the Lady Lions take their early spring break trip to the Junkanoo Jam tournament in the Bahamas, they will get a glimpse of an NCAA tournament regional site the Lions could be playing in come March.

The No. 9 Lions (1-0, 0-0) will tip-off with Old Dominion (1-3, 1-0) at 7 p.m. today at Ted Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion.

Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland feels her team should take special note of the game because the venue is a predetermined regional site this season saying, "it's something we will have to be aware of."

The Bryce Jordan Center, this year, was not chosen as a regional -- much to the disappointment of Portland.

The Monarchs come into the game hit with injuries to their post players and will feature a three or four guard starting lineup -- something with which the Lions should be all too familiar with. It's the same lineup Penn State prefers to play and it's the lineup Louisiana State attempted to run last Friday when the Lions drubbed the Tigers 83-46.

"They're struggling with their post play too," Portland said. "They probably have four guards and [Monique] Coker, their forward, can float all over the place."

The team's leading rebounder and scorer from last season, Coker, was solid in Old Dominion's first three games, but it hasn't been enough to stop the Monarchs from dropping two of their first three.

The Lions will then head to the Bahamas for an invitational tournament and a Nov. 28 first round game with George Washington. Penn State may then find itself in a showdown in the tournament's final game against No. 8 Kansas State (1-1, 0-0) provided both teams win their first round games.

-- By Wade Malcolm