In her first 29 years of coaching, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland has never had a losing season.

Maybe that's why she has a hard time believing she'll have her first one in her 30th year.

While most coaches wouldn't be thinking so positively with a losing record past the midway point of the season, Portland believes that her Lady Lions (7-9, 1-4 Big Ten) can salvage a rough start and make a splash in the ultra-competitive Big Ten -- and possibly squeak into the NCAA Tournament.

Penn State doesn't exactly have the credentials of a tournament team at this point in the season, but Portland thinks her team is just a step or two from returning to the program's winning ways.

"If we take care of the little things, something's going to break here," she said. "Any time you walk across the court and the line, you can win."

The only other time Portland flirted with a losing season was in the 1988-89 season when her team finished 14-14.

To a casual observer, an eighth-place Big Ten standing and ranking in the bottom of nearly every statistical category in the conference doesn't quite point to a promising second half of the season. But as Portland has stated, the glass isn't half empty yet.

Freshman point guard Brianne O'Rourke leads the Big Ten in assists per game (5.5). Couple that with the recent strong play of freshman shooting guard Mashea Williams (32 points in her last two games), and the Penn State backcourt doesn't look too shabby, either.

Williams' efforts alone are especially promising. After suffering a knee sprain in a Nov. 29 game against Old Dominion, Williams saw limited action before exploding for a career-high 20 points against Wisconsin nearly two weeks ago.

"The lightbulb went on," Portland said. "Her instincts took over in that game."

Williams' return gives Penn State another viable option at point guard behind O'Rourke and an athletic, slashing scorer with the ability to penetrate to the basket.

The slow start hasn't completely surprised anybody, including Portland. With four freshmen and no seniors on the team, some growing pains were expected.

"Basketball is just one of those things that goes through cycles and graduation," Portland said. "We obviously are going through some transition here. You just have to stay after it."

The Lady Lions have been working to limit costly turnovers and increase their rebounding.

In their last game, Penn State still committed 13 turnovers, but outrebounded Illinois 45-41, something that Portland said is huge for the rest of the season.

"What we did at Illinois was a statement from the kids to us that they do have a concern about [rebounding]," she said. "They really made an effort at Illinois."

With a thin roster, many young players like O'Rourke and Williams have been forced to contribute right away. O'Rourke often must play a full 40 minutes without rest. Instead of worrying about her point guard's large workload, Portland wants O'Rourke to get as much experience as possible to prepare for the future.

"The upside's going to pay off," she said.

And while it's unsure how long that upside will take to show up, Portland believes Penn State can attract top recruits for the future to Happy Valley, despite the current losing record.

"People know Penn State, and they know the transition that we're going through, and they know the upside of this program," Portland said. "You just have to do what you have to do, and Penn State sells itself."