The Steel City, Baton Rouge, San Diego, and back again.
The preceding were all on the Penn State women's basketball travel plans during the winter break stretch of games from the end of December into the start of January.
The No. 17 Lady Lions (13-3, 4-0) finished the eight contests with a record of 6-2, spending all but two games on the road. Both losses for the Lady Lions came after being upset in overtime, 92-88, while playing away against intrastate opponent Pittsburgh as well as a lopsided 80-63 defeat handed out by No. 2 Louisiana State.
The series was capped off yesterday with a 79-63 victory over Big Ten foe Northwestern (6-10, 1-4) in Evanston, Ill.
Despite the two blemishes, Penn State hammered their remaining opponents, Kent State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Northwestern, by a combined score of 513 - 355.
Arguably one of the biggest highlights of the Lady Lions' holiday series was the 83-53 dismantling of No. 9 Minnesota in the team's Big Ten home opener at the Bryce Jordan Center on Jan. 6.
"Obviously we're very, very happy. It was a great comeback from our players," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said in a press conference after the game. "Normally when you lose a game like we did the other day, the next game is not against a formidable opponent, and you end up taking it out on them."
Just two days earlier, Penn State suffered a 17-point loss to LSU on a nationally televised broadcast. One highlight of the team's loss was Ashli Schwab's 22-point, 11-rebound performance. After the game however, Portland made a lineup change, electing not to start sophomore guard Jess Strom for the Minnesota game.
"It was weird [not starting], but I just had to stay focused and not let it really get to me," Strom said. "Kelly [Mazzante] was talking to me before the game, and she said 'just don't let us down,' and I figured they're my best friends and I'm not going to let them down."
The Lady Lions also downed Iowa at home, 86-52, despite facing a 12-point deficit at the half.
"I guess the first 14 minutes, as we said to the kids, was like a trip to the dentist," Portland said. "We should thank our fans for not leaving, as they stayed with us. And I think our team stayed together."
The win against the Hawkeyes was not only important for conference standing, but also because they have given the Lady Lions some trouble over the last couple of seasons.
"I think not only last year, but the fact that no one on our team has ever beaten Iowa," Kelly Mazzante said. "So, that was a huge thing for us. And also not losing in the Jordan Center, so I think we just knew what we had to do. It was a great game."
Another high point for Penn State was winning the Surf and Slam Invitational in San Diego after winning big against both Kent State, 96-68, and Nebraska, 83-64, in the finals. The tournament MVP award was garnered by Mazzante.
Also during the past couple weeks, the women's basketball team went through some dealings with personnel. Junior transfer Melanie Croser was handed a 21-game suspension at the end of December by the NCAA for playing in an unsanctioned foreign league before coming to Penn State. Croser, a Melbourne, Australia native, has not played a game thus far because of the pending litigation on her status.
However, shortly after the new year, an appeal that was filed upheld on Croser's behalf, negating the original suspension, and allowing her to start playing immediately.
In another personnel move, the Lady Lions added another player to their roster. Burcu Turan, an 18-year-old guard from Turkey will be joining the squad for the remainder of the season, adding depth to the Lady Lion roster.
