W. Hoops at UVA is sure to be no cupcake

You can bet that Penn women's basketball coach Julie Soriero won't be the recipient of any cupcake awards this season. In fact, Soriero and the Quakers will begin a daunting schedule with Saturday's 2 p.m. tipoff against the ninth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers at University Hall. The game will be the first of the season for both clubs. Although Penn is not fully expecting to knock off the high-powered Cavaliers in their own arena, the Quakers see the game as an excellent test that will help the team mature. It should also serve as excellent preparation for future contests against the likes of Florida and possibly Ohio State. "We're not going in with a high expectation of winning, but the team certainly sees winning as a possibility," Soriero said. "We are looking to play competitively and take some positive things home with us. "It's a great opportunity for our players to compete against one of the finest programs in the country in an exciting venue. I have a responsibility to expose them to that next level." The Cavaliers are not the same squad that won the ACC and made the finals of the East Regionals in the NCAAs last season. They lost two of the premier players in women's hoops, Heidi and Heather Burge, as well as playmaker Dena Evans to graduation. However, when it comes to the question of talent, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan isn't exactly worried. "For all intents and purposes, we're loaded," Ryan said. "We have depth at every position – players who would push to start on other teams. Experience will be the key." That can only be good news for Penn, which is hoping that the young Cavalier five has not yet gelled. This means that starting well will be extremely important for the Quakers. Not only may this cause doubt and concern among an inexperienced Virginia team, but it will give Penn much needed confidence in a situation that has the potential to become intimidating or even awe-inspiring to the Quakers. Unfortunately for Penn, the Cavaliers have recognized and addressed the experience issue. "I know that Penn is a little more experienced than us in terms of the amount of veterans they have coming back," Ryan said. "I am hoping we can control the boards and play good solid, defense." Indeed, Virginia does have a size advantage which they hope to use in outrebounding the Quakers, but Soriero is well aware of this. "They're not as strong offensively, but there will be some isolated size problems," Soriero said. To counter this the Quakers are planning to play a lot of zone defenses, especially the 2-3, which will force the Cavaliers to hit open outside shots. Also, Penn feels it is imperative to slow down the tempo of the game, forcing Virginia into its half-court offense on every possession and hopefully neutralizing the Cavaliers' athletic superiority. One way the Quakers will try to accomplish this is to pull several players back during Penn foul shots to set up the half-court defense and attempt to prevent Virginia from running off missed free throws. To take full advantage of the Cavaliers' unproven outside shooters, the Quakers will have to rebound well and prevent second- and third-shot opportunities. The 2-3 zone should put Penn in excellent rebounding position, but execution will still be tough against much bigger opponents. Virginia's high-powered, run-and-gun attack is led by three returning starters. Junior forward Charleata Beale averaged 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season and she honed her skills travelling with an ACC all-star team over the summer. Another junior forward, Amy Lofstedt, poured in 7.1 points per game. Sophomore guard Jenny Boucek, who was a member of the ACC all-freshman team last season, will provide some valuable experience handling the ball in the backcourt. To counter this, Penn's starting guard tandem of juniors Katina Banks and Shelly Bowers will need to employ excellent ball handling as well as control the pace of the game. The Quakers will also need to knock down open shots, something they struggled with last season (Penn shot 35.2 percent from the field last season). This will not only provide scoring, but further prevent Virginia from establishing a fast break off long rebounds. Although competing against the bigger, stronger, and more talented Cavaliers will pose an enormous challenge, the Quakers seem poised and eager to accept it. Whether Penn leaves Charlottesville with a victory or not, the Quakers are sure they will come home with a much better assessment of themselves and with enough experience and confidence to translate into wins against lesser Big Five and Ivy league foes later in the season. Whatever happens, Soriero will not come home with any cupcakes.