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The Lady Quakers were trounced by the Princeton Tigers at the Ivy Opener this Saturday at the Palestra 44 Allgood 23 Jourdan Banks Credit: Pete Lodato

Though Mike McLaughlin’s first year as head coach of the women’s basketball team brought only two wins, he will have an impressionable group on which to build a solid foundation for the future.

With only seven players returning from last year, the freshmen of McLaughlin’s first recruiting class make up close to half of the team.

“They’re ready for the challenge,” he said. “I’m confident enough in their abilities that they’ll be able to contribute in some way right away.”

McLaughlin is so confident that he plans to start freshmen Meghan McCullough and Alyssa Baron as guards right at the beginning of the season.

Though that move might seem bold, junior captain Jess Knapp thinks that despite the high expectations the team has placed on its rookies, the team’s newcomers are ready for collegiate level play.

“A lot of times freshmen come in and they sort of expect a year to get acquainted with the program, but we told them right away that … you’re not really going to have that cushion … but to look at it as an opportunity to get a chance to play early on,” Knapp said.

The team hopes that the addition of these fresh faces will help alleviate some of the offensive problems the Quakers faced last season, especially as two of last season’s top scorers, Sarah Bucar and Caitlin Slover, graduated.

“I think this year everyone can contribute a couple points here and there. It’s not going to really be one person doing everything,” Knapp said.

Though the Ivy League preseason poll predicted another last-place finish for Penn this year, McLaughlin is realistic about what he wants to do.

“Our goals are to get competitive,” he said. “I think if you’re competitive you have opportunities to win.”

Knapp would also like to see the team put up a win against one of their Big Five opponents early in the season.

“We haven’t [beaten a Big Five school] in a while, and I think if we could do that it would sort of light a fire,” she said.

The Red and Blue will embark on another season against tough Ivy opponents, as defending champion Princeton returns ten letter-winners.

That challenge begins Friday when the Quakers host Bryant at the Palestra at 7 p.m.

“We have no room for error at this point,” McLaughlin said. “And I think they embrace that challenge. I think this group practices as hard as any group I’ve had.”

And coming from a coach who came to Penn with the best winning percentage in the NCAA, that’s certainly a compliment.

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