Michigan women's basketball coach Cheryl Burnett has a simple response when asked about the Lady Lions' season thus far.

"Well I think their whole season is momentum, isn't it?" she said.

She could not have been more accurate. For the No. 8 Penn State women's basketball team (11-3, 4-0), it is all about momentum. And with the Lions' 4-0 start in the Big Ten, that is true now more than ever.

An undefeated start, beginning with a major road victory against then-No. 7 Purdue (12-2, 2-1), has infused confidence into the team when it comes to conference play that they hope will carry them through the rest of the season.

"To open conference by beating Purdue at Purdue, it just gives you momentum and a strength and a belief that a lot of good things can happen for you," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said. The momentum, of course, did not simply start as the conference season commenced. Rather, it began with the team's first victory of the season, against then-No. 12 LSU (13-2), and it continued to build throughout a rigorous non-conference schedule that involved six ranked opponents, of which the women defeated four. "Being 4-0 [in the Big Ten] is a product of the schedule home and away," Portland said. "It will always go back to our non-conference scheduling."

But at this point, the women are not looking back, their focus is simply forward -- the direction in which their momentum is carrying them. Because as hard as the non-conference schedule has been, the Big Ten is surely not any easier. Currently, there are four Big Ten schools in the AP Top 25, with three of those teams -- No. 6 Minnesota (14-0, 3-0), Penn State, and No. 9 Purdue -- in the top 10. Perhaps nothing indicates better just how tough this conference is than the fact that three of the four conference games the Lions have played so far were decided by no more than five points apiece. But in these close calls lies yet another source of momentum.

"It helps us to realize that we can win close games," junior guard Tanisha Wright said. "It just reminds us that we've been in this situation before, and the outcome has been good."

The first four games were not as pretty as the 4-0 record might indicate. And conference play is only going to get uglier, especially with next Thursday's date with undefeated Minnesota.

But despite all that, an undefeated conference opening is worth a lot. It is worth four tallies in the win column. More importantly, it is worth a whole share of momentum.

And for this team to fight its way through the big talent of the Big Ten, momentum is a good weapon to have on its side.