Coming off an impressive win to open the season, the Penn State Lady Lions are anxious to prove that their 99-72 domination of then-No. 12 Old Dominion last Sunday was no fluke.

And with another big Top-25 showdown against Duke on Monday, they are also ready to show they will be able to avoid a letdown tonight, as No. 10 Penn State (1-0) travels to The Pavilion in Philadelphia to take on the Villanova Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 7:30.

These Lions are very different than their Final Four counterparts from a season ago, but you wouldn't know it by watching their performance last Sunday.

Sophomore point guard Ashley Luke put aside any doubts that she would struggle taking over for the departed All-American Helen Darling, scoring 13 points and handing out a career-high 13 assists. Junior forward Rashana Barnes filled the hole vacated by Andrea Garner quite nicely, tallying a game-high 19 points and adding seven rebounds and four blocks.

The Lions hope to build on Sunday's game against a Wildcat squad missing a key set of claws. Senior center Brandi Barnes will not start, and may not even play tonight, after contracting bronchitis earlier in the week. That leaves true freshman Courtney Mix with the task of containing the other Barnes — Penn State's Rashana, who had 15 points coming off the bench in the teams' last meeting, a 76-54 Penn State victory in Happy Valley last November.

Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland is expecting a different look from the Villanova defense.

"Their D will dare you to shoot, and force you into shots you don't want to take," she said.

Wildcats coach Larry Perretta and his team will try to put pressure on a young Lions squad, but knows that what Penn State lacks in experience, it makes up for in talent.

"Yeah, they're not as experienced as in years past, but we don't plan on trapping Luke," Perretta said. "Because if she breaks it, that will leave their three-point shooters open. We don't want to do anything to leave ourselves vulnerable."

If the Lions can emerge from the Pavilion victorious, they will be 2-0, with two important road wins under their belt when they battle the Blue Devils Monday.

"Road trips are good because there are no distractions," Portland said. "And (with two tough road games and a big home opener) I couldn't ask for a better way to start my college career if I were a freshman."

Portland cited depth in the low post and foul trouble from the frontcourt players as early concerns, but said she was happy with the play of the Lion guards and pleased with the way the four Penn State freshmen performed in the opener.

It could be difficult for the Lions to overlook Nova as the No. 3 Devils loom next week, but Penn State seems to have its focus where it needs to be.

"We try to win in threes basically, not to look at the whole season," Barnes said. "So that's really our goal — to get this next win on the road."