W. Hoops is swept in N.Y.

Something was rotten in the state of New York. No, it was not the Big Apple. This weekend, it was performance of the Penn women's basketball team. The Quakers were swept by their Empire State rivals, Columbia and Cornell, leaving Penn near the basement of the Ancient Eight standings. The dismal tone for the weekend was set before the road trip even started by the very fact that the Quakers had to face the Lions at Levien Gymnasium, where Penn coach Julie Soriero has never won. Friday night would not be the time for the Quakers to exact revenge, as they fell to Columbia 67-60. The following night in Ithaca, N.Y., Penn lost 58-56. The problem that plagued Penn (5-12, 1-4 Ivy League) all weekend was one of balance. There was none of it. The starting backcourt of senior captain Julie Gabriel and juniors Shelly Bowers and Katina Banks shot a combined 6 for 25 from the floor for 15 points. That included three treys from Banks in the game's final minutes once Columbia (4-14, 2-4) had put it out of reach. So, while the game was in contention, the trio had accounted for only six points. They are averaging more than 30 points per game on the season. To make matters worse, their Lion counterparts accounted for 46 points. "When our guards aren't scoring, they have to focus on defense and prevent [Columbia's guards] from taking over the game," Soriero said. "We just didn't have any consistency at all." This lack of productivity put excessive pressure on senior center Katarina Poulsen and junior forward Shelly Dieterle. Although they responded with 21 and 16 points, respectively, they could not carry the Quakers to victory. The lack of scoring from the guards enabled Columbia's defense to collapse on Penn's front line, often double and triple teaming them. When the ball got kicked out to the perimeter, the guards were unable to find the bottom of the net. "There wasn't a forward on Columbia that could match up with me height-wise," Poulsen said. "But when the guards have an off night like that, it really enables the defense to double down on me." One further breakdown from Penn's standpoint was abysmal free-throw shooting. The Quakers knocked down just 3 of 9 from the charity stripe. Such benevolence is no way to win Ivy contests on the road. Certainly, it cannot continue if Penn has any chance of reversing its recent misfortunes. Although the Quakers were disappointed with their continued failure at Levien, the team remained upbeat heading into Ithaca to face Cornell (6-12, 3-3). The Quakers had defeated the Big Red 69-65 in overtime last season at Newman Arena. However, once again, lack of consistency would haunt the Quakers. Nothing epitomized this more than the play of Bowers, who, more than atoning for her dismal shooting the night before, tallied 16 first half points to lead Penn. The Quakers could not take advantage of an early lead, and the teams were knotted at 31 going into the locker rooms. Unfortunately for Penn, Bowers would add only four points in the second half as the Cornell defense adjusted and the rest of the Quaker offense didn't pick up the slack. Penn shot a dismal 31.8 percent from the field. "It's hard to sustain an early lead," Soriero said. "Shelly came out on fire, but we couldn't sustain anything. It cost us because Cornell kind of seized the momentum. There's too much parity in the Ivies to lose that intensity." That intensity turned into pressure down the stretch -- and the Quakers failed to respond. With a one-point lead, Penn missed a shot with 37 seconds to play and then failed to convert two put-back attempts. After a Big Red timeout, Cornell junior forward Keri Farley (23 points, 12 rebounds) was fouled and sank both free throws. Penn, down by one with less than 30 seconds remaining, responded by throwing the ball out of bounds, the Quakers' 21st and most costly turnover of the evening. After a Big Red free throw extended Cornell's lead to two, Penn had one last possession to either pull out a victory or send the game to overtime. Instead, the Quakers were sent packing. On that final fateful possession, Penn missed three layups. Yes, layups. "It's beyond frustrating, it's crushing," Soriero said. "It's really tough to have known going in that if we had taken care of business, we'd be tied for second with teams coming to our court. Now, we're close to last in the league." After this disappointing road trip, any aspirations of wearing the Ivy crown seem to have vanished. The Quakers will have to keep working hard and keep a positive mental attitude to stay competitive. "We need to prove to ourselves that we can do better in the Ivies," Dieterle said. "For our pride, we need to turn it around. Our performance this weekend is not what this team is about." To turn it around, and exact revenge on these same opponents when they visit the Palestra, the Quakers will need to cut out their rotten spots and gain some measure of consistency.