With a No. 8 ranking and a 4-0 record in the Big Ten, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland has some things to be happy about.

But her team's post players certainly aren't one of them.

When asked what aspect of her team's post play Portland was happy with, she simply said, "Not much."

And with good reason. Getting production in both scoring and rebounding from her post players was a team goal at the onset of the season, and it appears that goal is one yet to be accomplished.

Freshman Reicina Russell and junior Ashli Schwab, who have split the majority of the minutes down low, currently combine to average 8.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Junior Hazel Joseph and freshman Amanda Brown have contributed little while playing sparingly off the bench.

"They're on my hit list this week," Portland said. "We spent our whole coaches' meeting [yesterday] morning sometimes speaking a little louder than normal about our post play. That's a part of our game that needs to improve quickly."

Portland better hope quickly means some time in the next two days if the Lions have any chance of beating Michigan tomorrow in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines (9-7, 2-1 Big Ten) have senior Jennifer Smith, one of the best centers in the conference, and the focal point of their offense. The 6-foot-4 Smith is averaging 22.1 points and 7.6 rebounds, ranking third and sixth in the conference, respectively.

Perhaps in an attempt to bolster the Lions inside presence, Portland has, in the last four games, started Russell ahead of Schwab, who started each of the first 10 games of the season.

"[Schwab] certainly had her time and had her opportunities, and she was given fair warning when this was going to happen," Portland said.

The move seemed to work -- at least to some degree. Russell has proven to be a force underneath the basket on the defensive end, blocking a conference-leading 2.71 shots per game.

But, offensively, Portland still considers her post-players to be liabilities.

"They don't call for the ball; they just come across the lane," Portland said in a monotone voice to emphasize how lackadaisical her post-players are on offense. "I tell the rest of the kids, 'don't throw them the ball.' I shouldn't have to be saying that."

Though Schwab out-performed Russell against Wisconsin, scoring 11 points to Russell's two, Portland said things will continue as they have with Russell as the starter.

"I'm happy [Schwab] has chosen to compete, but [Russell] has done nothing wrong," Portland said. "That rotation will continue, and the competition will continue, too."

Portland addresses the post-play issue with grave seriousness, going so far as to place the team's hopes of advancing past the Sweet 16 on the shoulders of her frontcourt members.

"They will be the reason if we continue our success or equal what we did last year," she said. "And that's not the goal of our season to equal last season."