W. HOOPS NOTEBOOK: W. Hoops finally knows what to expect in Ivies

After last weekend's Yale-Brown split, the Penn women's basketball team has now seen every Ivy League team once. It hopes to be better prepared for certain matchups and opponents the second time around. The Quakers will get another chance against Dartmouth this weekend, and against Columbia and Cornell later on. All of these teams have defeated Penn in games the Quakers felt they had chances to win. "Now we're getting to play everybody again, and we're looking forward to that," Penn center Katarina Poulsen said. "We definitely have some scores to settle, and we have some things to prove. We lost to Dartmouth earlier, but we feel like they're a team we can beat. The same goes for teams like Cornell and Columbia. I think we're on track again after last weekend, and we need to finish strong." The most important fact about the upcoming Ivy rematches may be the venue. The Quakers have only played two of their first seven Ivy games at home this season, so they have yet to host every Ancient Eight opponent besides Yale and Brown. Penn coach Julie Soriero is aware that the Quakers must use the home court to their advantage. "Travel in the Ivy League is always very difficult, with long trips and games on back-to-back nights," Soriero said. "The challenge facing us now is that we've got to make sure we're consistent at home. On any given weekend, a team can jump from sixth to third or so in the standings in the blink of an eye. So we need to play well on home weekends." · One of the stars in last weekend's win over Yale and near-upset of Brown was junior point guard Shelly Bowers. In the two games, she totaled 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Even more impressive was her stamina, as she played the full 40 minutes both nights. "I think Shelly's one of the fittest players on the team," Soriero said. "I have no worries about her capabilities in that regard. As long as she's playing well and is not fatigued, I'm going to leave her in there." Bowers and the rest of the Quakers did a better job of protecting the ball last weekend as well, committing only 25 turnovers while forcing 34. Soriero attributes this to an improved level of focus and execution. "We talked about cutting a little bit harder and moving without the ball," she said. "I thought we executed well both nights with good screens and good cuts." · If Penn is to win some games over its Ancient Eight opponents in the weeks to come, junior forward Shelly Dieterle may have to step up her offensive production. With freshman Deana Lewis lost to injury, the Quakers will continue to count on Dieterle for strong contributions. "We need more from that forward position, and right now it's up to Shelly to do so," Soriero said. "If she's in single digits [in scoring] and her opponent is also, then I have no problem. But if her opponents are putting up double digits, then she needs to step up. I'd like to see her look to the basket a little bit sooner than she does." Penn will also need to get more contributions from the freshmen coming off the bench -- guard Erica McCauley and forwards Amy Tarr, Nikki Pozzi and Amanda Coulter. In 47 minutes last weekend, the four freshmen did not score. McCauley especially struggled, going 0 for 10 from the floor. "We've got to get more from our bench," Soriero said. "Amy has a nice shot and I'd like to see her take it more. Erica has passed up some open shots and needs to do a better job of recognition when she's open. Nikki and Amanda still are trying to adjust, and they have to work harder for points because they're in the paint." Senior captains Poulsen and forward Julie Gabriel are determined to keep the effort and concentration level of the younger players up. As the leaders, the two have refused to let anyone lose focus. "I think it's really important for Kat and me at this point to keep playing hard and concentrating," Gabriel said. "We're probably not going to win an Ivy title, but you don't throw in the towel just because you can't reach your first goal. We need to keep playing hard as a team for the rest of the year."