This is the one for which they endured a hardcore non-conference schedule. This is the reference of this year's program slogan of "Reaching for New Heights." This is the date they have had in mind since last year's season ending loss at this very stage.
This is the Sweet 16, and for the women of the No. 5 Penn State women's basketball team (27-5), this is the game that could validate -- or invalidate -- the entire season.
Having made it as far as the previous two seasons, the top seed Lady Lions will look to get past this point of stagnation as they face off against No. 5-seed Notre Dame (21-10) tomorrow at noon at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Conn. This East Regional semi-final game will be televised live on ESPN.
"What we talked about all year is that we want to be better than we were last year," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said. "And so to repeat the Sweet 16 would not be that."
In Penn State's past two appearances in the NCAA tournament, it encountered teams that it could simply not overcome once it got to the round of 16. In 2002, it was No. 1-seed Connecticut that bested the women, and last spring, it was No. 1-seed Tennessee. But this year, it is the Lions themselves that have the top seed, and along with that, the sky-high expectations and the chance to prove that they are just as much of an elite squad as any team in the country. And they are relishing this opportunity.
But to advance farther than last year, a Fighting Irish squad stands squarely in their path. While Notre Dame struggled early in the tournament, winning its first round game over No. 12-seed Southwest Missouri State by just four points, there are plenty of reasons why this Big East squad will be able to put up a big fight.
Notre Dame has scored huge wins over talented teams this season, including Penn State's most recent opponent, Virginia Tech, Villanova, and, most notably, Connecticut by 15 points back in January. And with Jacqueline Batteast at forward -- a junior who averages 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds a game -- the Lions will be hoping that the luck is not with the Irish tomorrow.
Senior guard Kelly Mazzante will be looking to get any luck she can back on her side after a personally frustrating performance against Virginia Tech on Tuesday night. Faced with the Hokies tenacious defense, the Big Ten's most prolific scorer finished with just nine points and a shooting percentage of 25 percent from the field.
But it is clear that the focus is forward not back, that no one on the team is concerned about Mazzante's struggles in Blacksburg, Va., and that the events that determine the final perception of this season are now in the hands of the players.
When the team set its goals for the season, reaching the Final Four was so convincingly at the top of the list that it has almost become a necessity. Now just two games away from an April vacation to the Big Easy -- with one of those games potentially a showdown with No. 2-seed Connecticut -- skipping ahead to visions of the French Quarter would hardly be a difficult task. But Portland maintains that her team is entirely focused -- as it has to be.
"I think we've done a very good job of living in a box for the past week," Portland said. "We have truly focused on us; we have kept the theme 'It's about us.' "
How much the theme of the East Regional will be about Penn State remains to be seen. How the Mazzante era will conclude is as of yet unknown. But what is for certain is that the game that will bring the verdict on this season's worth is tomorrow afternoon -- and a third straight early exit in the Sweet 16 would result in the crashing down, from some high up place, of a season's store of hype and hope.
