Poor Penn performance enough to crush Lafayette

EASTON -- It got real ugly real fast last night at Allan P. Kirby Field House, where the Penn women's basketball team embarrassed a badly overmatched Lafayette squad, 64-37. Penn coach Julie Soriero emptied the bench early and often enough for 12 of the Quakers' 14 roster members to see action before halftime. By game's end, every Penn player had been on the court for at least six minutes, while every Leopard had enjoyed at least four. The resulting melee was closer to a YMCA pick-up game than Division I college basketball. "I think we knew we were a better team than they were, and we just played down to their level," senior guard Shelly Bowers said. "We let their mistakes lead to our mistakes." The only thing bouncing in and out faster than the Penn personnel were the Quakers' free throws. The Quakers opened the game by missing their first seven attempts from the charity stripe and sunk only 7 of 19 on the night. Penn (3-11) struggled early on from the field as well. It was nearly five minutes after the opening tip when Katina Banks finally knocked down a jumper to record the first of her team-high 10 points and knot the contest at two. But if the Quakers' offense was in a drought, the Lafayette attack was in the midst of a famine. After scoring on their opening possession, the Leopards (1-15) suffered through 11 scoreless minutes to spot Penn a 10-point lead. By halftime, the Red and Blue was in solid command with a 29-12 advantage. Lafayette spent much of the first half trying to figure out how to get into its offensive sets. The Quakers relied primarily on the aggressive perimeter defense of their three guards to force the Leopards into 17 turnovers in the period. "Erica [McCauley] got out and put a lot of pressure on the point and we were able to overplay the passing lanes," Bowers said. "The Lafayette guards really didn't cut or move much to get open." McCauley finished the game with career highs in steals and assists with six of each in only 24 minutes. Bowers added five steals of her own in limited time. Freshman center Renata Zappala came off the bench to etch her name in the Penn record books by amassing five blocked shots -- the third most in Quakers' history. The substitution merry-go-round spun even faster in the second half as both coaches sought to give their younger players game experience. "It was important for our bench players to get some playing time because they gain confidence and we're going to need them in the Ivies," Bowers said. "When you start playing two games in two days, you're going to need the fresh legs." Penn finished the game with more steals (20) than turnovers (18) for the first time this season, and despite its slow start, shot a respectable 39 percent from the field. The Quakers also pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds, led by senior center Natasha Rezek's 14 boards. A Lafayette team in the rebuilding process provided an unfamiliar challenge for the Red and Blue, which has rarely held the upper-hand in pure talent and athleticism as it did against the Leopards. "I think we won ugly," Soriero said. "It's difficult to play a team like that, but if you want to be a good team, you have to be able to play well against a team like that. I hope we will look at the mistakes we made tonight, and learn from them in practice."