The showdown between No. 14 Penn State (2-0) and No. 24 Mississippi State (2-0) in the semifinals of the preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament could turn into another type of showdown.

Last season's No. 1 and No. 2 scorers in the nation were junior Kelly Mazzante and senior LaToya Thomas, respectively. Mazzante edged out Thomas in scoring 24.9 to 24.6 ppg. Tonight at 7 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center their teams will be facing off with a chance to go to the finals of the WNIT.

Thomas got an early jump on Mazzante this season as she set a WNIT record with 42 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Lady Bulldogs' 92-66 victory over Tulsa on Sunday. She is 30-for-44 from the field in the tournament and the Bulldogs are yet to break a sweat in their first two games with margins of victory of 26 in both games.

Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland stressed in her teleconference yesterday that Mazzante must stay patient and can't get caught up in a one-on-one game like she did against Bucknell. She believes that the supporting casts of each team will probably determine which team comes out victorious.

Mississippi State has a legitimate inside-outside game with Thomas manning the inside and sophomore guard Tan White on the outside. White averaged over 18 points a game last season and has dropped 43 points in the Bulldogs' first two games this season. She also is a force on the glass, as she grabbed 16 rebounds this season. The matchup of White and sophomore Tanisha Wright is a much-anticipated one.

"That is going to be a real interesting thing to watch," Portland said. "Tanisha will have to do a really good job and keep her composure for the game plan."

With a force like Thomas on the inside the Lady Lions could have problems in the low-post with the lack of an experienced presence in the paint.

Sophomore Ashli Schwab will draw the assignment against Thomas, but a variety of players can be expected to guard her throughout the game including freshman Tiffany Tomlinson, junior Jessica Brungo and sophomore Hazel Joseph. It will be important for the Lions to keep fouls to a minimum as they only have two post players on the bench.

"She poses obviously more than usual problems for us in an area that we knew was going to be a problem coming into the season, our post play," Portland said. "We obviously need more than one person to play her and Tan White is so very good too that the inside-outside combo will pose problems."

Tonight's winner will face the winner of the USC-Kansas State game Sunday.