A smile lit up the face of senior forward Amanda Brown when she was asked about the opening game of the 2006-07 women's basketball season.

The Canada native, who attended Unionville High School in the Philadelphia suburbs, spent most of the summer playing for Canada in the FIBA World Championships. As she returns to Philadelphia to face the Drexel Dragons tonight, Brown said she is excited for a homecoming game to open her senior season.

When the Lady Lions open the season at 7 tonight on the road, Brown won't be the only person excited to start the season.

"Scrimmages have shown us that we were scoring more points than last year," head coach Rene Portland said. "We're going to be ahead of where we were last year. So they're working real hard. They'll be happy to get the season started."

The opening week will be especially brutal to the Lions. They play four games in a six-day stretch, beginning tonight at Drexel.

"This team is still very, very young and we're going to see how mature these freshmen are and even our sophomores," Portland said. "You really lose on-the-court time. We'll spend more time in the film room, we'll spend more mental preparation and here's hoping that our conditioning well get us through those [six] days."

Although picked to finish ninth in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason rankings, perceptions of the Drexel squad may be deceiving. Last time Drexel was picked to finish ninth in its conference, it actually finished the season in third place with a 19-10 record. Penn State will have to play well defensively to neutralize Drexel's outside scoring threat, led by Narissa Suber. The junior guard ranked sixth in the nation in three-pointers per game (3.0) last year.

The Lady Lions will be able to counter with a three-point threat of their own. Last year's leading three-point shooter, junior guard Adrienne Squire has been making progress regaining her shot after a shoulder injury in 2005-06. Sophomore point guard Brianne O'Rourke has also improved her three-point shot in the off-season, Portland said.

Even though Portland will use the same starting lineup as last year, the underclassmen should make an impact early. Freshman guard Tyra Grant, who has played well in preseason scrimmages, will be coming off the bench along with sophomore guard Mashea Williams, who is recovering from a knee injury.

The game between Drexel and Penn State will be a contest between two young lineups. The Dragons have only one senior and the Lions have two; however, all five of Penn State's starters already have a season under their belt. The rigorous schedule of the next six days, especially with an easy start against Drexel, should only help improve the Lions.

"It really is a great measuring stick because of the variety of competition we have," Portland said. "We're very fortunate that three of them are here at home to give our kids the opportunity to play in front of the home crowd and get things going."