Playing in the No. 8 vs. No 9 seeded game, both Wisconsin and the Penn State women's basketball teams can count on seeing No. 1-seed Ohio State, along with unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection and conference player of the year Jessica Davenport, in the second round.

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, the "Thrilla' in Manila," as Howard Cosell called it, was the third matchup in their series of epic bouts. Like that past-its-prime matchup, the Lady Lions and the Badgers are biding their time until they meet the Buckeyes, who carry a No. 6 national ranking.

For the "Greatest of All Time" and "Smokin' Joe," it was about deciding the victor of their career series until their individual careers were over. But for Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland, the third rematch against Wisconsin isn't about winning the first-round game and the overall season tilt. Currently the season series with the Badgers is tied at one apiece.

"You'd like to think it's wide open because we're on the bottom side of it this year," Portland said. "It's about going there and representing and doing a nice job, it's about going and winning the tournament."

That also means that the Lady Lions also can't just play tight with the Buckeyes and lose like on Sunday, 61-59. Portland pointed out once again that this year's freshmen, including point guard Brianne O'Rourke, have the most high school state titles in the history of the program.

"We were talking to each other about the game on Sunday, and just saying how much confidence we have in each other," O'Rourke said. "We can make a run after the Ohio State game."

While Portland would not go into great detail about the Buckeyes, because Penn State has to play Wisconsin first, there is more available for the Lady Lions out in Indianapolis than pride and experience. The ultimate championship belt is still out there, and expectations are as high as ever. Rumble, young women, rumble.

"I'm counting on everything they've been taught this season and the understanding that there is that NCAA tournament bid out there," Portland said. "They are not a young team anymore."

Consolation prize

O'Rourke lost out to Iowa forward Megan Skouby for the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award. This came after Portland and the whole Penn State contingent had been pushing hard for O'Rourke to come out on top.

O'Rourke still pulled away with a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshmen team, but Portland wasn't completely pleased with the recognition.

"Happy for Brianne, but we do believe that that not being the rookie of the year -- we think she is," Portland said. "Her statistics backed up what we were trying to promote."

That would be a leap considering that the 5-foot-6 O'Rourke averaged 7.6 points and 5.2 assists per game this season while the 6-foot-6 Skouby had 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Skouby's numbers only got better during the conference season, with a 16.75 scoring average in Big Ten play.

Junior forward Amanda Brown was voted second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and was a third-team selection by the media. Sophomore Kamela Gissendanner received honorable mention by both the media and the coaches.

"To get that honor, it feels great," O'Rourke said. "I'm happy for my other teammates, too."

This was the first year since 1998 that the Lady Lions did not have a first-team All-Big Ten selection.

The Most Outstanding

In an emergency hire, Portland announced that she added former player Joanie O'Brien to the bench as an assistant coach. O'Brien will temporarily replace assistant coach Keila Whittington, who had back surgery earlier in the year.

"Keila is still a member of the staff," Portland said. "She'll collect her paycheck. All the positive stuff."

As a four-year letterwinner at Penn State, the Lady Lions' Most Outstanding Player Award is named after O'Brien. Since graduating in 1986, O'Brien has coached at Auburn twice as an assistant, with a stop in between at the University of Massachusetts as a head coach.

Portland said a decision would be made after the season whether O'Brien will remain with the staff next season. At the moment, she will help with recruiting, which has been a major stress on Portland and the rest of the coaching staff in Whittington's absence.

"She's a former Lady Lion great, so we're happy to have her back with us," Portland said.