Rene Portland deals with transitory personnel every year, but there has been one rule of thumb: NCAA Tournament or bust.

At one point, the long-time Penn State women's basketball coach had higher aspirations, such as a Final Four appearance. In rebuilding efforts such as this one, the goal is just to make it to the Big Dance, as youth is never an excuse for a powerhouse to be absent from a 64-team event.

The Lady Lions last failed to qualify for the tournament in the 1997-98 season, when they compiled a 21-13 record. That year they went on to win the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). It's that team that the 2005-06 ensemble will look to.

Currently at 9-11, Penn State won't amass the win total of the team that went to the Big Ten title game eight years ago. Up until these last two weeks, this team hardly resembled one with a postseason future. Since then it has made a semblance of a run, turning heads in the process.

The Lady Lions won their first road conference game on Jan. 22. Then they knocked off Iowa at home on Thursday of that same week. On Sunday afternoon, in a game that was expected to be a Golden Gophers blowout, Penn State took the lead on multiple occasions in the second half before succumbing to then-No. 14 Minnesota. Still, newfound optimism hints at change, due mostly to Portland's efforts.

Breaking the game down to a science, she appears to have gotten through to the inexperienced team.

Underneath one of the baskets at practice last week hung a handwritten sign. The elaborate cursive on large white paper pointed out the simplest of statements.

"Rules."

Youth often requires discipline, and Portland has had no problem playing mother. Through each offensive or defensive set, in any imaginable scenario, each player has a list of criteria she must abide by.

It has worked, leaving a possibility of a postseason berth, albeit a slim one. An automatic entry is not an option, unless the seven teams above the Lady Lions in the Big Ten participate in an unprecedented collapse.

"We've been working real hard at practice staying on top of the rules," Portland said after defeating Iowa 72-61 last Thursday. "How you do this, how you do that, I think there's been a more concerted effort to stay very focused."

If Penn State looks for hope, it needs to look no farther than that 1997-98 team. It finished 8-8 in the Big Ten, good for seventh, before going to the Big Ten Tournament finale and qualifying for the WNIT.

This year's team resides uncomfortably at the eight spot, meaning it's in a fairly similar position. Essentially, hopes rest in that four-day tournament in Indianapolis.

Until then, the end of this season is an exhibition, a preparatory month to get ready for Big Tens.

Coaches knew Penn State was going to be a cause of problems late in the season. No matter the roster, Portland has always assembled a winning team in her 26 years along the PSU sideline. Coaches are seeing firsthand why Portland has seen such success, as essentially the same players that couldn't compete earlier in the year are now in the mix against top-25 opponents.

"Why not?" Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder said after last Thursday's loss. "They have a good inside game and their point guard, I know she's only a freshman, but she does a nice job. She's going to be good before it's all done ... sure Penn State can make some noise."

Portland said the effort will pay off. Replicating the performance of the '98 team still would not put the Lady Lions in the thick of March Madness, but the prospect of that success allows them to think about at least competing in the WNIT -- miles away from where they were before they started following the rules.