From the 1982-83 season until 1991, the Penn State women's basketball team was a member of the Atlantic 10 conference. When Penn State (5-5) joined, head coach Rene Portland was in her second year with the Lady Lions and seventh overall.

Xavier University (6-2) joined the conference in the 1995. And at 7 tonight in the Bryce Jordan Center the two schools will meet for the first time.

Now, 20 years removed from that 1982-83 season, Portland's days as a burgeoning young coach are but an afterthought in the bigger picture.

"Only [get nostalgic] when I walk past the trophies that are in our office," she said. "And we have a lot of Atlantic 10 trophies up there."

In nine seasons in the conference, Penn State won two regular season championships and seven A-10 tournament championships. Penn State amassed a .787 winning percentage (96-26) in that time.

Xavier has won two A-10 titles and gone 110-66 since joining 11 seasons ago. And this year, Xavier has a wunderkind among its ranks.

Freshman forward Amber Harris, who Portland said was one of the nation's most coveted recruits, has been one of the nation's most imposing forces on the inside.

Harris ranks fifth nationally in blocks per game (3.5). She is averaging 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. And preparing for a 6-foot-5 freshman player like Harris is compounded in difficulty because Penn State has never seen her in person.

"The kid, Amber Harris, is just unbelievable. She can score from any place she wants to on the court," Portland said. "She was one of the best recruits in the country last year.

"She was that talented when she was a freshman in high school, so she's going to be an incredibly difficult matchup for us."

According to Portland, Harris committed to Purdue, a higher-profile program, before a coaching change was made there. Harris backed out and then committed to Xavier, which was supposed to get one of Purdue's defected assistant coaches. Xavier didn't get Purdue's former assistant but Harris stayed faithful to the program.

And she's immediately impacted Xavier in its quick start. The Musketeers rank third in the A-10 in scoring offense (71), first in blocked shots (5.5) and second in offensive rebounds (40) per game.

Penn State, though, joined the Big Ten has won five regular season conference titles. Like Portland, other current Big Ten coaches have defected from A-10 schools.

Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz led Saint Joseph's in the mid-70s and then spent 19 seasons at Rutgers. Grentz is in her 12th season with the Illini.

And Ohio State head coach Jim Foster was at Saint Joseph's until the 1990-91 season. He's now in his fifth year with the Buckeyes.

Their roots in the small conference are evident at Big Ten meetings, even now, Portland said.

"We usually sit together, the three of us," Portland said. "So it's like old Atlantic 10 days."