Tuesday night, the Penn State women's basketball team had homework -- basketball homework. Sent home with a piece of paper detailing the goals of the Lady Lions (25-5), they had the task of answering four questions, two of which were "How desperate are you to win the national title?" and "How determined are you to win the national title?"

With the responses not in by her press conference on Wednesday, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland was anxious. Though her team has been talking Final Four and national title all season, the chance to actually achieve those dreams is now upon it. As one of four No.1-seeds in the NCAA tournament, Penn State will enter the big dance with a first round matchup against No. 16-seed Hampton (17-12) at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Blacksburg, Va. The game will be televised on ESPN.

With the team's perception of this season's success relying on these next three weeks, every game is simply a must-win. Prior to the season, junior point guard Jess Strom made this very clear, saying, "We're just talking Final Four."

But to satisfy this ultimate dream, four games now stand in the team's way. This is why Portland is making sure, before the drama begins, that the team has the desire to win and will carry that desire over to each game -- starting with Hampton.

"If they think [practice this week] is another day in the office, I'm in trouble," Portland said. "It's not another day in the office. I'm watching coaches work real hard, and I'm watching kids get in the gym. It's interesting to see how they'll answer those four questions."

While No. 1 seeds have always been safe in the first round games in the men's tournament, that has not been the case for the women. In 1998, No. 16-seed Harvard pulled off the first upset of its kind by defeating No. 1 Stanford.

Hampton earned its bid in the tournament by winning its second consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title by defeating Delaware State in the conference tournament final. While Hampton is a strong defensive team, they have a noticeable problem holding onto the ball. The Lady Pirates average 24.6 turnovers per game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.5.

"They like to get up and down the court real quick," Portland said. "We've got to force some things early to get them into a turnover situation."

While Hampton is coming off of a win, the Lions are trying to rebound from their loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament championship game on March 8. With the current senior class now leaving without ever having won a conference tournament, the loss was perhaps the most difficult of the season for the players to deal with.

"On one hand, you have to move past it, and on the other hand, you have to get fired up about it," Portland said. "They didn't expect it, and it happened. Next time they lose, they collect the uniforms, so we have to get after it."

Should the women start rolling again with a win against Hampton on Sunday, they would stay in Blacksburg to face the winner of No. 8-seed Virginia Tech and No.9-seed Iowa Tuesday on the Hokies' home court. A win there would send the women to the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Conn., the following weekend for the Sweet 16.

Sights set forward, dreams made sky-high and desire intense, the Lions know that now is the time to make this season as good as it can be. And it all begins Sunday in Blacksburg.