"I think everyone can talk about their dominance at home," Portland said. "We didn't do a very good job against them when we played at their place."
On Jan. 21 at Williams Arena, four Penn State posts, including senior center Amanda Brown, combined for six points on 3-for-12 shooting.
Minnesota hopes that the return of senior guard Kelly Roysland allows it to make a late-season run for positioning in the conference tournament. Roysland will be playing her second game back from a broken collarbone she suffered on Jan. 26. Her 20 points led the Gophers against the Lady Lions earlier that week.
"She surprised everybody," Minnesota coach Pam Borton said of Roysland's return to the lineup. "She went out there and played like a veteran senior captain."
Penn State is looking to utilize its signature home court advantage tonight, but inclement weather may keep many of the average crowd of 5,817 at home. To make up for the anticipated loss of people, the Lady Lions are offering free tickets to any Penn State student willing to trudge through the tundra.
Borton doesn't believe a small drop-off will make much of a difference.
"They just play with a different energy and just a sense of urgency at home. And obviously they make it a big deal to protect their home court," Borton said. "
Though the regular season conference championship has long been out of reach, both squads still have something to play for. For any prayer at being invited to a postseason tournament, each will need to boost its résumé with quality victories.
"Whether you're home or on the road, you gotta bring your 'A' game, because everybody's still out for the same thing," Borton said.
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