W. Hoops goes cold over break

Villanova women's basketball coach Harry Perretta's shreiks were the only sounds heard over the crowd's bored murmurs at DuPont Pavillion last Friday -- until frustrated Penn coach Julie Soriero cried out "Relax, Harry!" After all, Perretta's Wildcats were already ahead by more than 20 points and Penn was in no condition to catch up. Winter break was just another bleak opportunity to pile up numbers in the Quakers' loss column. Penn's first victory of the season against Lehigh January 3 was the lone bright spot. Sophomore point guard Erica McCauley returned at point guard for the Quakers (1-9 overall, 0-2 Ivy League). During McCauley's transition back into the starting lineup, she traded off point guard duties with junior Shelly Bowers, who has been running the offense since McCauley fractured her hand earlier this season. "It is good [to have McCauley back]," Bowers said. "It gives us more depth and there is less pressure on me." Penn opened up winter break with a 68-65 loss to Richmond at the Palestra. In one of the closest games of Penn's season, senior Natasha Rezek lead the Quakers with 21 points and 17 rebounds while Bowers added 19 points. The Quakers were behind 30-25 at the half, but they closed the gap by scoring 40 points in the second stanza. Penn had more than enough opportunities to come away with a victory. Both Richmond and the Quakers made 22 shots from the field, but Penn put up 75 while Richmond shot only 52. "I think it is all mental," freshman Colleen Kelly said. "We were trying too hard to make the shots." Also passive on the boards, the Quakers allowed Richmond 38 defensive rebounds. Penn's defense could only do so much to cover up its inadequate offense. After forcing 25 turnovers and stealing the ball away 12 times, the Quakers still could not catch up. Miraculously, Penn's offense turned around in a 82-79 victory on the road at Lehigh three days later. The game marked McCauley's return to the point. The Quakers shot 50 percent from the field -- a dramatic turnaround from their 29-percent showing against Richmond. Penn was also successful from long range, making 43.8 percent of its three-pointers. Bowers scored 23 points and dished out six assists. The junior guard needs only 73 more points to become Penn's 10th 1,000-point scorer. Senior Katina Banks also energized the offense with 17 points. Rezek was unusually quiet with only seven points in 32 minutes. After leading 43-31 at the half, Penn survived a scare in the second half after Lehigh drastically improved its shooting percentage and outscored the Quakers 48-39 in the second half. Penn opened its Ivy League season at the Palestra with a 71-59 loss to Harvard January 6. Currently in first-place in the Ivy League, Harvard used its unstoppable offensive combination of center Tammy Butler and forward Allison. Butler, Harvard's all-time leading scorer, dominated the game with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while three of her teammates also scored in double figures. The Crimson's balanced scoring was lethal for the Quakers, who barely retaliated. Not one Penn player scored in double figures. Five-foot-three McCauley led the Quakers with nine points while the frontcourt cowered under Harvard's defensive pressure. McCauley played for 23 minutes, the most since her injury. Despite the fact that McCauley took pressure off Bowers at the point, chronic inaccuracy still plagued Penn's offense. Freshman Colleen Kelly returned to Penn's lineup for the Harvard game after recovering from mononucleosis. Kelly was a highlight for Penn, scoring eight points in 14 minutes. Penn was handed its second Ivy loss the next day against Dartmouth. The 79-55 blowout victory for the Big Green secured Penn's position in the Ivy League cellar. The Quakers were expecting a tough game -- Dartmouth won the Ivy title last year and returned all five starters. Betsy Gilmore, last year's Ivy Player of the year, was relentless on the defensive end for the Big Green with 15 steals. Dartmouth's Sally Annis bombarded the Quakers on the other end of the court with 17 points, while 6-4 center Ilsa Webeck shadowed the Quakers inside. The Quakers next suffered a close 58-56 loss at Marist College January 10. McCauley started for the Quakers at the point and scored 12 points. Rezek got back on track, scoring 21 points and bringing down 13 rebounds after having several slow games. The Quakers were outscored by only one point in each half of the heartbreaker. "It is very dissapointing," Bowers said. "We are always coming up short. Marist won on a last second shot?. We felt we did everything right and it didn't matter." Penn ended the break with the loss at Villanova. The Wildcats ran away with the score in the second half after leading 31-17 at the break. The Quakers were held to only five points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. After Villanova's Michelle Thornton sunk a pair of consecutive treys, Penn was down for the count. The Quakers were tossing bricks that only hit rock-bottom. Penn landed only 9-of-49 shots from the field, their worst offensive performance in an inconsistent season. "We were taking shots in the context of our offense with Lehigh, Richmond and Marist." Bowers said. "But at Villanova they pushed us out really far. They put on a lot of defensive pressure and we weren't taking good shots." Villanova frustrated the Quakers with 12 steals and 40 rebounds. Rezek was Penn's leading scorer with 12 points, half of which came from the free-throw line. Banks had two steals and she now needs only 19 more to become Penn's all-time leader. Wednesday the Quakers face Temple, another Big Five opponent. With the return of McCauley and Kelly, they have run out of excuses to lose.