There was once a dream that was Penn State women's basketball.

Not too long ago, even last year, the conversation was if another rectangular cloth would be lofted among the championship banners at the Bryce Jordan Center. Now hope lies in having players that resemble the fabric that past teams have worn -- the uniform.

"We have to develop nine kids on this team to feel like we've accomplish what we need to accomplish this year with this group," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said.

This year, Portland won't bother to worry about what seed the Lady Lions, 2-5 in the Big Ten, are handed in the NCAA tournament. Four freshmen played a combined 96 minutes in the Lady Lions' 91-48 victory over Northwestern on Sunday.

With young players getting so much playing time, Portland expects this early experience to pay off later. But she won't focus her group too far down the line. This crop of freshmen, if you round up, are on pace for a 6-10 Big Ten record. That's why this team is only afforded an allowance of thought towards the Iowa game tomorrow, and not much else.

So when Portland saw some of her team's best basketball come against the Wildcats, she described the 43-point win as "the way it was supposed to be." The coach was satisfied to see the young players play like winners of old, but that isn't enough yet.

Freshman Courtney Molinaro's double-double against the Wildcats was just one pleasant surprise. But that performance only constitutes one more piece added to the puzzle.

"We need more players to develop. So one step at a time, and it's good to have another one," Portland said.

Other players are still in waiting. Portland sees freshman guard Mashea Williams as the "heir apparent" to the defensive stopper role, but is not quite there yet. The leader on the floor, freshman point guard Brianne O'Rourke, has been described on several occasions as the typical Penn State point guard.

Yet some pieces aren't as obvious as they would seem.

In the search for a 3-point shooter, Portland didn't mention sophomore Adrienne Squire, who is a more-than-reliable free-throw shooter, with a NCAA leading 98.1 percent success rate from the charity stripe.

But with the ninth-place team-shooting percentage from behind the arc, Squire and company's shooting can't be fixed during the season, according to Portland. But she believes that two future Lady Lions, committed high school seniors Tyra Grant and Meggan Quinn, will fix that next year.

"The two kids that we have coming in next year are great 3-point shooters. I can't over concern myself with something I can't fix ... now," Portland said.

But with the potential for a future comes no reassurance for the present. Hence, the focus isn't with winning right now. The message: Just learn how to play what Portland likes to call "Lady Lion basketball."

"It's one game at a time for us. It's had to be like that all year," Portland said. "They figure one set of 40 minutes out in an appropriate amount of time, I'll be happy with them."