In her first public opportunity this semester, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland declined to address anything other than basketball, despite receiving more criticism for off-the-court issues.

Last week, an excerpt from Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma's book, Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection, that ran on the front page of ESPN.com said that Portland has a condescending "we're better than you" attitude.

Portland has always taken great pride in her program and said that she would like not to get involved in a word battle.

"To each his own," she said. "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. I'm not going to get myself overly indulged in this whole thing."

Auriemma's statement stems from Portland's comments that Tennessee and Connecticut were only playing in the 2004 national championship game because of "bad seeding and bad officiating."

Auriemma's claims add to an already distraction-filled season for Portland.

In October, former Lady Lions player Jen Harris alleged that Portland asked her to leave the team because she perceived Harris to be a lesbian. Harris filed suit against Portland, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and Penn State in a Pennsylvania federal district court on Dec. 21, claiming that Portland discriminated against her on the basis of gender, race and sexual orientation.

At yesterday's press conference, Portland refused to comment specifically on the lawsuit and instead raised her concerns with the way the media was reporting on the story, saying she was not approached in the proper way.

"It's been stated too many times the chain of how you do things right. And if you choose not to do it right, there's a consequence to that," she said.

Before the lawsuit was filed, former player Courtney Wicks came forward to say that Portland used anti-lesbian recruiting tactics and openly condemned gay lifestyles.

Portland has only commented on the allegations by issuing two written statements. She sent out one statement on Oct. 14 supporting the university's discrimination policy and another on Nov. 9 stating that "[her] career has been built on treating all Lady Lion players with equal respect."

Yesterday, Portland chose to focus on her team's upcoming game against Illinois.

"Can we talk about the Illinois game? That's the only thing I want to talk about, OK?" she said. "You guys don't know a lot of the things that are going on, and I'm not going to be the one to talk about it, OK? I'm here to talk about basketball and the Illinois situation and that game. And then next week, I'll talk about Purdue and Northwestern."

Portland was named the 2005 Renaissance Person of the Year and served as president for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association during the 1989-90 season. Portland has also been a champion of the Title IX legislation.

After Sunday's loss to Penn State, Wisconsin women's basketball coach Lisa Stone expressed her support for the embattled coach.

"My only comment is that Rene Portland is a pioneer of women's basketball," she said. "I have a high respect and regard for Rene."

When asked if she thought the recent negative publicity has hurt her program's reputation, Portland looked down at the table for a moment before answering.

"I'm not quite sure how to answer that," she said. "So, I'm not going to answer."