HARTFORD, Conn. - Penn State already has played at hostile arenas all over the place. The Lady Lions have been to Purdue, they've been to Minnesota, they've played at North Carolina, Michigan State and Virginia Tech.

So why should playing Connecticut at the Huskies' second home in the East Regional final on Monday night be any different?

Well, 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."

It will matter for the 14,000 or so fans who show up at the Hartford Civic Center to watch UConn star Diana Taurasi play her final game in the state. The Husky 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 Husky 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."

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 in the building this season.

Auriemma also said he'd willing 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 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."

Connecticut (28-4) brings a wealth of big-game experience and 15 straight NCAA tournament victories to the regional final. The Huskies also have Taurasi, the two-time All-American who seems to make a key shot every time UConn needs one.

Taurasi missed nine of 10 shots during one stretch of a 63-55 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, then hit three huge shots down the stretch to keep the Huskies in control.

"You have to be concerned about the great tradition that they have and the great experience that they have," Penn State coach Rene Portland said. "We have great respect for that. They have set the standard for women's basketball that people strive to be like and people strive to be a part of."

Portland isn't in such a bad situation herself. Penn State (27-5) was the Big Ten regular-season champion this season and has won 21 of its last 23 games.

Mazzante is the Big Ten's career scoring leader with 2,905 points and three other Penn State starters have scored at least 1,000 points - senior Jessica Brungo and juniors Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom.

The total for that foursome: 6,453 points.

"That's a hell of a lot of points," Auriemma said. "I remember being in that situation and it's pretty comforting. I don't know if going into the game we can say if we stop Kelly Mazzante, we're going to win. I don't know if it's that easy. I don't know if it's easy to defend Penn State."