The roles have switched, with the Lady Lions' season tipping over the cliff while another team used to falling straight into the valley pulls itself back to safety.

Many fans hailed the Penn State men's basketball team's first road victory in five years over Northwestern last Wednesday as a breakthrough for the program. All of State College rejoiced for the return to respectability.

If the Penn State women's basketball team (7-10, 1-5 Big Ten) fails to drop the Wildcats at 2 p.m. Sunday in Evanston, Ill., the Lady Lions could have someone start their chalk outline in the basin of the conference.

And while the road drought might not be on the same scale as it was for the men, a Lady Lions' loss would be its fifth straight road defeat of the season. When asked what the main problem is on the road, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland responded simply and emphatically.

"No," Portland said, followed with a smile and laugh. "Just stay at it."

Portland's statistics away from Happy Valley haven't brought as many signs of joy to the Penn State faithful. With only 214 losses in 25 years at Penn State, 171 of those are away from State College. That equates to 79.9 percent of the games where the Lady Lions have received an extra "L."

It has only gotten worse in recent years. Last season, Penn State compiled a 7-11 record away from home, including two different three-game road losing streaks. Without an overtime win on Dec. 9 at Pittsburgh, 84-79, it could have been seven in a row.

On Jan. 27, 2005, Penn State lost at Northwestern, 58-49. The Wildcats weren't lighting up women's basketball at that point, sitting at 4-16. This year's Northwestern team is last in the Big Ten in several categories: scoring defense and offensive and defensive field goal percentage.

Yet the Wildcats (4-13, 0-6 Big Ten) are eighth in the conference in shooting from beyond the arc, which has the makings of an offensive resurrection considering the Lady Lions' last-place 3-point defense. Any reason is a good reason for extra preparation.

"It's a still a work in progress," Portland said. "But I think the bye weekend came at a good time."

Northwestern would tie Penn State in the Big Ten standings with a win, which would be an inversion of normal program prestige for both schools. In the last seven years, the Lady Lions always finished in the top 25 and the Wildcats were nowhere to be found in the rankings.

This aside, Portland has had to take the lumps this season because of her team's youth. She might even be prepared to concede a bit of conference dominance and watch her players improve.

"You get tired of losing at certain places," Portland said. "That's all part of maturity."

The key is to learning to win before the grave is filled in.