It has certainly not been a typical Penn State Lady Lions season.

Penn State is a team in transition, building for the future. For the first time in her 26 years in Happy Valley, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland has finished the regular season with a losing record. The Bryce Jordan Center is hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament most likely sans the Lady Lions, who have gone to the dance 21 times since the women's game adopted it in 1982.

And in possibly the most exhausting setback, Portland is facing a lawsuit from former Lady Lion Jennifer Harris, alleging that Portland discriminated against her on the basis of sexual orientation, gender and race.

And through it all, Portland has forbid herself to show any hint of weakness. But after Penn State fell, 61-59, to No. 6 Ohio State (25-2, 15-1 Big Ten) yesterday in heartbreaking fashion, all the bottled-up emotion began to fizz out as Portland finally showed a slight crack in her blue-and-white armor.

While a small group of fans protested the embattled coach, many times the amount showed their support for Portland with signs reading "We Believe in Rene." When Portland was introduced, the crowd of 8,313 cheered raucously.

When asked what she thought about the fans, Portland took time to collect herself before answering, tears welling her eyes.

"I don't know ... I don't really know how to answer you," she said in a shaky voice, fighting back tears. "I have given this school and these kids, and I will continue to give this school and these kids, the best of Lady Lions basketball."

As emotion highlighted the postgame press conference, the game rendered itself to one of the most dramatic and memorable of this season.

Penn State (12-15, 6-10) stormed to a 12-0 lead, keeping the Buckeyes scoreless for the first eight-plus minutes. With 7:36 remaining in the first half, freshman point guard Brianne O'Rourke put the Lady Lions up by 16 with one of her four 3-point shots.

However, Ohio State slowly pecked away at the lead, scrapping to a 32-25 halftime deficit.

Penn State surged early in the second half, too, stretching the lead to 17 with 14:07 left, but, like the first half, Ohio State wouldn't go away.

Lay-up by lay-up, the Buckeyes fought themselves back into contention until one Jessica Davenport bucket tied the game at 59. With five seconds left and the score tied at 59, Davenport missed a wide-open shot, only to have the ball land in the hands of Marscilla Packer. With two seconds left, Packer sealed the comeback, draining the second-chance shot. It was the first and only lead for Ohio State.

With time expiring, O'Rourke launched a desperate half-court shot, only to watch it bounce harmlessly off the backboard.

"It was a great basketball game, and somebody was going to have to lose, and it was unfortunately us," Portland said. "But a lot of things were memorable, and obviously, the outcome's going to be memorable, too."

After Ohio State had celebrated, the Lady Lions joined hands, stood on tired legs and quietly sang along to the alma mater, the frustration written across their faces.

In an afternoon full of humanism in sports, it was just another reminder that the game goes beyond the box score, a thought Foster echoed after the game when talking about the emotional ride Portland has taken this season.

"I sometimes don't think people recognize the human element and can say some pretty unbelievable things in the course of a 40-minute basketball game," Ohio State women's basketball coach Jim Foster said. "It's almost an indictment on us, our society right now."