Going into the season, the Penn State women's basketball team knew that it would have to rely heavily on its five seniors.

Four games into the season, it is obvious that the team relies on those five more than even the Lady Lions could ever have thought.

Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom have proven to be the only consistent creators on the offensive end of the floor, and of late, Ashli Schwab has been a force on the boards.

But with the absence of head coach Rene Portland and the team's luke-warm 1-3 start, the off-court leadership of the senior class has become even more vital to the team's success than any of its accomplishments on the hardwood.

"We have a good group of older kids on this team as far as seniors, and they have really rallied to help me out as far as keeping things in order and getting the younger kids moving and certain aspects off the court as well as on," associate head coach Annie Troyan said.

"We're just sticking together as a family from top to bottom."

Even after the struggles of the early season, the Lady Lions' closeness as a team has allowed them to keep the adversity they have faced in perspective.

Much of this adversity surrounds Portland's sudden leave of absence and the changes that it has caused, for both the players and Troyan, herself.

"On the bench it was like an out of body experience because normally I'm the one giving the opinions to Rene and now I have to listen to an opinion and make a decision," Troyan said.

"Before, I was never the one making the final decision. It was different, but I survived."

Troyan said that though getting into her on-the-court responsibilities has been challenging, dealing with the media and other off-the-court aspects of the job has been the toughest transition.

A younger team might have imploded after such a rough start, but Troyan said that the senior class has been invaluable in helping her ease into the job.

Wright has been the emotional leader of the team from the first time this team hit the court, but Troyan said that she had slightly altered her role on the team in Portland's absence.

"Tanisha has been more vocal that she has ever been, and not necessarily with basketball things, just with more positive comments to the other kids so they keep their focus," Troyan said.

Schwab, Strom and Hazel Joseph have also stepped up to help Troyan lead the team, but she said that it has been fifth-year senior Jenny Brendan who has helped her the most in adjusting to head coaching responsibilities.

"Jenny has been really positive for me," Troyan said. "Jenny has said, 'You need to say this now.' So Jenny has been in my ear the whole time with that little stuff."