Chris Babb's head almost hit the ceiling as he painted the door trim at Our Lady of Victory Preschool, while Meredith Monroe laid across the stairwell, painting Betty Loo Sue's Farm.

The Penn State men's basketball guard and the Lady Lions forward, along with both basketball teams, were volunteering at the school Thursday afternoon as part of the United Way Day of Caring.

This is the third year Monroe has participated in the program, while the men's team is taking part for the first time.

"My freshman year, we started," Monroe said. "We painted stepping stones, and we enjoyed it so much that we just wanted to come back and help out. We saw how much we were helping the community and everything."

The Lady Lions players came in shifts throughout the day as their class schedules permitted. Monroe's group, including guards Renee Womack, Zhaque Gray and Alex Bentley, prepared to paint the narrow hallways of the preschool.

While the Lady Lions were upstairs, Babb and teammates Cammeron Woodyard and Steve Kirkpatrick were downstairs, working and joking with each other about who was the best painter on the team.

"We got here expecting to work for a couple of hours, and there's this awesome spread of food in there," Kirkpatrick said.

"They got pizzas and salads and desserts -- like six different kinds of desserts. So we got to start off working on a full stomach, which is a plus."

Our Lady of Victory is a private preschool and does not qualify for state funding. The school of 75 students between the ages of 2-and-a-half and 5 years old takes any kind of donations it can get. This is the third year the school has participated in the United Way program, but it's the first time Penn State athletes have come to the school.

Preschool director Beth Dougherty wasn't even expecting the athletes to visit Our Lady of Victory. The school was closed Thursday during the painting for the safety of the children, and when Dougherty heard the athletes were coming, she was initially disappointed the kids wouldn't be there.

"I know what it takes to be a student, and some people are working," Dougherty said. "And then to be a student and work, and to be an athlete and still say, 'I want to come and volunteer,' that's just something. I think it's fantastic."

The Lady Lions were at the Centre Furnace Mansion gardens last year, helping trim the bushes and paint the mansion.

For both squads, it was a chance to get away from the court and give back to their fans and their community. And for some of the players, including Womack, painting the school reminded them of their younger days in preschool.

"The little sinks and the doorknobs are kind of low," Womack said.

"It's kind of weird, but it's cool at the same time."