BLACKSBURG, Va. - She says it's only because one of her teammates keeps stealing her seat, but junior point guard Jess Strom hasn't sat by the rest of the Lady Lions for post-game interviews during the first two rounds of the women's NCAA tournament.

She sits way off to the side, sequestered by a poll stuck in the middle of the visiting locker room at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum. And near the exit, too, like she wants to have a quick escape from the spotlight bearing down on her lately. She looks different than everyone else, and it's hard to tell if she's trying to hide or stand out by her juxtaposition.

But this is because Strom is a different kind of player. When chaos was erupting and the Lady Lions' (27-5) eventual 61-48 second-round victory against No. 8 seed Virginia Tech (23-8) was in doubt, Strom and fellow guard Tanisha Wright -- in one of the biggest games the Penn State women's basketball team will play this year -- were inexplicably calm, even when all of their teammates were a bundle of nerves. But, speaking for herself, Strom has an explanation for this.

"I'm that type of person; I don't get rattled," she said shrugging her shoulders.

There's no sense in questioning Strom's logic here. Everyone who has followed this team knows the junior from Munhall shows up in the big games. Early in the season, she did against then-No. 2 ranked Texas when she scored 19, stole seven passes and dished out six assists.

It happened again when the point guard scored 15 in a crucial late season road victory at Michigan State.

And it happened here, in Blacksburg, Va., yesterday as Strom had 17 points, five assists and two steals.

Not rattled? Strom was the only Lions player other Wright who managed to avoid being a total basket case in the first 25 minutes of the game. And as if her statistics weren't enough to make the point, Strom added this to convince everyone that, well, things like nervousness and tension and big the games just don't really bother her:

"I just have a 'whatever' attitude about everything," she said. "Big games are the same to me. Big games make some people nervous; I don't get nervous."

Fortunately for Strom, she has a running mate in the calm category. Wright, who tied her career high with 28 points and shut down Tech guard Carrie Mason, has showed a willingness to step up when star guard Kelly Mazzante struggles, as the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer did last night. Unlike Strom, Wright seems to relish in the spotlight a bit more.

"I always anticipate I can do thing like that," Wright said of her performance.

The two are very different in some ways, yet very much the same in others. After all, they're like sisters. Needing a convenient way to commute for the AAU team the two both played, Wright lived with the Strom family throughout high school, with Jess and Tanisha sleeping in rooms just down the hall from each other.

And these players who obviously share an off-court bond seem to pull together on the hardwood when Penn State needs it most. The two never seem scared; this wholesale statement cannot be said about the rest of the Lions, as this game proved. Strom and Wright put the team on their back to get this win.

"When everything else is going crazy, we look at each other," Strom said. "And you know say things like, 'T let's win this.'"

Then, the television cameras came into the locker room. They want to talk to Strom. She shifted in her seat and glanced toward the exit. "Do I have to?" she asked.

She does. And the reluctant star of the game suffers through the spotlight one more time.

Until the next big game.