There was no real celebration after the Lady Lions' 65-51 win against Michigan on Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center. No special presentation. Nothing.

It was an unceremonious ending to a similarly monotonous affair between two of the Big Ten's lowliest teams.

Though Rene Portland picked up her 600th victory as Penn State's head coach -- which makes her the ninth coach to reach that milestone at one institution -- there wasn't much going on afterward.

Regardless, the burden has been lifted.

''It's been something we've been talking about since the beginning of the season, and we figured out how many she needed and we went from there,'' senior center Amanda Brown said.

''We wanted to get it for her a couple weeks ago, and, unfortunately, we didn't pull it off and that's our fault, but we're glad we could get it at home."

Penn State helped Portland, who has 687 overall career wins at three schools, reach the 600-mark on its third attempt. Penn State's first attempt was, ironically, against Michigan on Jan. 7.

But perhaps it should not come as irony at all. Their first meeting was in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Penn State lost

by 14 in a game that Portland thought was overly physical. And, as this season has boldly illustrated, Penn State (9-10, 2-4 Big Ten) is hard-pressed to win on the road.

But at home the Lady Lions have lost only one of their eight games, fitting of Portland's philosophy, which has played itself out in the past few years.

"If you can protect your home and steal on the road, you can become a very good team," Portland said.

Despite leaving Michigan (8-11, 1-5) some room to comeback late in a second half riddled with fouls, Penn State made free throws and remained sturdy in the waning moments.

"It was physical," Kam Gissendanner said. "We were just ready for it this time. Last time we went into Ann Arbor we were kind of shocked. This time we were just ready for it, and I thought we handled the pressure really well."

Guards Gissendanner, a junior, and Tyra Grant, a freshman, led the Lady Lions in scoring. Gissendanner had 21 points, and Grant had 17. With 10 points, Ta'shia Walker was the only Michigan player to score in double figures.

Gissendanner was 8-for-12 from the free-throw line, leading the team in free-throw attempts. Penn State shot 31 free throws on 26 Michigan fouls. Two Michigan players fouled out.

The quick turnaround between the two meetings was, in this case, beneficial for Penn State. The games were only one week apart, so this time the Lady Lions were better prepared for the Wolverines' gruff style of play. In fact, the team's strength coach worked harder to prepare the team.

"He wasn't too happy with us," Brown said of the strength coach. "He didn't like that he read about us getting pushed around. We had a very good lift on Monday and came back and said, 'We can't let them push us around. We're stronger than them and we're the better team.' So we just went out there and knew that we could do it."