Though they might not have known it, the Lady Lions have Franklin Delano Roosevelt to thank for their nine-day reprieve since last Tuesday's game against Duquesne.

After all, it was in 1939 that Roosevelt moved the Thanksgiving holiday from the last week in November to a week earlier. Of course, he did it because of the Great Depression, but nonetheless, the Penn State women's basketball team will get back to playing games tonight at 7 in the Bryce Jordan Center against George Mason (1-2).

The extra time off gave the Lady Lions a chance to regroup from their tough 1-3 start, and get ready for the next gantlet that features No. 2 North Carolina (Sunday) and No. 9 Baylor (Dec. 11).

"It was a good week off," senior guard Tanisha Wright said. "It allowed us to just reflect on what's really happening, and how we're gonna approach the situation whenever we get back. Knowing that we have this six-game stretch coming, we've all thought about [the 1-3 start] and matured from it."

No Lady Lions team, until this season, had started 0-3 since 1979-1980, but a win over Duquesne on Nov. 23 and some time away from the court have given the team a fresh attitude.

"It's like a new start for us," sophomore guard Jen Harris said. "Yeah, we had a rough start, so we're thinking about going in, starting over, and try to come out better than we did the first time."

Annie Troyan is going for her second straight win while serving as acting coach, with head coach Rene Portland out indefinitely due to medical reasons.

"It's definitely been hard because we don't have our head coach, our motivator, to help us out," sophomore forward Amanda Brown said. "We have other coaches that have all the confidence in the world, and I think we've been working real hard and it'll be OK."

In her 18th year working alongside Portland, Troyan's coaching style falls from the same mold.

"We all wish [Portland] was here," Strom said. "Annie knows everything Rene would say. She's just like Rene, so we just all kinda come together and stick together."

Seniors Strom and Wright are being looked at even more to fill in for some of the leadership. Wright leads the Big Ten in scoring with 20.5 points per game, and said that the team has grown with the loss of its leader.

Penn State has never played George Mason, which is part of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Patriots are led by a pair of sophomores, Tracy Ann Holness and Kristin Higy, who are the only two on the team averaging double-digits in points.

In the past two games, Wright has had help from the inside, scoring-wise. Against Villanova, Ashli Schwab scored 20, and against Duquesne, Brown scored a career-high 18 points.

Whether the points come from the paint, or the outside, Wright says the only mindset now is winning.

"Right now, that's what we're focusing on," Wright said. "We did have a rough start and we are going through a little adversity, but there's no reason we can't come out and win some games."