In her 20 seasons as head coach of the No. 5 Penn State Lady Lions, Rene Portland has twice been named national coach of the year. She’s won exactly three out of four games she’s coached, but the Final Four has remained out of reach.

For the No. 2 seed Lady Lions (28-4) to advance to the Elite Eight for the third time during Portland’s tenure, they’ll have to conquer third-seeded Iowa State — and the throngs of boisterous Cyclone fans will that caravan to Kansas City for Saturday night’s Sweet Sixteen tilt.

It is the inaugural meeting between the two schools in women’s basketball.

Half of Penn State’s losses came against No. 1 Connecticut and No. 10 Duke, and the Lions own an 11-3 record versus tournament teams.

Senior point guard Helen Darling, the Big-10 Player of the Year and winner of the Naismith award dishes out a staggering 7.7 assists a game, and averages almost six rebounds —including a career-best 13 against Youngstown State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Helen is not really the scorer of our team,” Portland said. “They let her rebound and she gets 13. There are not too many point guards in the country who could do that.”

Senior center Andrea Garner leads in scoring and rebounding with 14.8 points and 8.7 boards per game.

Garner and Darling carried the Lady Lions to a 75-69 win last week against SEC-foe Auburn. Garner had 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Darling churned out 10 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists.

“What makes Penn State so good is they share the ball so well,” Auburn head coach Joe Ciampi said. “Darling is the key because she gets the ball to the right people at the right time.”

Juniors Helen Wasseth and Lisa Sheppherd complement the two senior stars inside and outside. Wasseth is the team’s second-leading rebounder, and Sheppherd is the main three-point threat, shooting 43 percent behind the arc.

Darling and Garner have been part of a successful rebuilding project, taking the Lady Lions from 15-12 as freshmen to the national power they are today—capable of capturing a national championship.

“There’s an empty trophy stand and there’s a picture of the Liberty Bell,” Portland said. “We need to take one game at a time, but their eyes are on the prize, don’t ever doubt that.”

Iowa State and Penn State shared four common opponents — Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern and St. Francis of Pennsylvania — and each team swept them all.

While the Lions seek to grace their initial Final Four, Iowa State looks to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. Both teams speak as if losing is not an option. Whether it’s out of fear or pride or both will be evident soon enough.

“We are very happy to be going to Kansas City … but that’s where we’re supposed to be going,” Portland said. “The kids have very big hearts.”