WOMEN'S EAST REGIONAL Penn State faces 'road' challenge

The Nittany Lions are playing for a Final Four berth -- in UConn's backyard.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Penn State already has played at hostile arenas all over the country. The Lady Lions have been to Purdue, Minnesota, North Carolina, Michigan State and Virginia Tech.
So why should playing Connecticut at the Huskies' second home in the East Regional final tonight be any different?
Well, for one, it is Connecticut, winner of the last two national championships and three of the last four. And it is for a berth in the Final Four in New Orleans.
But complain? Not these Lady Lions. They're the No. 1 seed in the region, after all, which on paper makes them the favorites.
"All year, we've had tough games on the road," said Kelly Mazzante, Penn State's two-time All-American. "We need to worry about ourselves. We know we are in Connecticut, but it doesn't matter where we are playing this game."
UConn faithful
It will matter for the 14,000 or so fans who show up at the Hartford Civic Center to watch UConn's Diana Taurasi play her final game in the state. The Huskies faithful also will be hoping to see something that's never been done in women's basketball: a program earning a fifth straight trip to the Final Four.
Louisiana Tech (1987-90) and Tennessee (1995-1998) are the only others who have done it four straight years. Second-seeded UConn is trying match Tennessee as the only program with three consecutive titles.
With the men already in the Final Four, UConn could become the fifth school to get both its men's and women's teams in at the same time.
"Obviously, it would be really special to get there again because no one's done that," senior guard Maria Conlon said. "We've always concentrated on the now and not the then, but if we win and can cut down the nets and say we were the first team to be able to do that, it would be an accomplishment for UConn that we could be proud of for a long time."
The edge
Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma concedes that playing at home gives his team an edge, though he notes the Civic Center wasn't much of an advantage in the Huskies' losses to Duke and Boston College this season.
Auriemma also said he'd be willing to give up the home court to have all regionals played at neutral sites.
"I'm sure looking at it from the outside you'd say Connecticut's got a huge advantage playing at the Hartford Civic Center with 15,000 people in their corner," he said. "I wish that wasn't the case. Because I also hear the snickers from other people going, well, of course you should go to the Final Four. You're playing at home.
"Well, we've been to seven Final Fours. Six of them, we've won the final eight game someplace else. So I'd like to think that if we win, it's not because we're home, it's because we're the better team."