Banks' heroics lead W. Hoops to sweep

Ysmenia BensonYsmenia BensonDaily Pennsylvanian Sports Writer The tension that had gripped Jadwin Gym for 40 minutes finally eased away in the broad grins of the Quakers. "I do it in practice all the time," Banks said. The 59-57 victory over the Tigers last night secured Penn's first season sweep of Princeton since 1982. With 1 minute, 26 seconds left on the clock, things were not looking good for the Quakers. Senior guard Shelly Bowers threw away a pass with Penn leading 55-54. Point guard Erica McCauley recovered the ball at the defensive end, but she travelled and the Quakers lost possession again. Banks would not let the game slip out of control. She swatted the ball away with 56 seconds left to recover the ball for the Quakers. Center Natasha Rezek went up for the layup and missed after struggling inside all night. Penn was given endless second chances all night and took advantage only when absolutely necessary. Banks was fouled but missed the one-and-one. With 19 seconds left the Quakers were still up by only one. Princeton fouled McCauley in desperation, and she landed both free-throws to extend Penn's lead to three. "We made the big baskets from the free throw line when we needed to," Soriero said. With nine seconds left, the Quakers thought they were secure. But Princeton coach Joan Kowalik still screamed from the sidelines, "It's our game!" and Tiger Deb Smith answered with a three-pointer to tie. It was Penn's ball with five seconds left. When plan A to dish the final shot to McCauley failed, Banks drove in from the left side for the layup. For a brief moment before she tipped the ball in, overtime seemed definite. But in the end, the only hearts sinking were orange and black. The Penn-Princeton rivalry has produced the most exciting finishes this year in Ivy League women's basketball. The Quakers went on a 21-0 run in the last five minutes to come from behind and win Jan. 28 at the Palestra. The Quakers have won six of their last seven games after starting their season 1-10 and now have sole possession of second place in the Ivy League. Outside shooting won the game for the Quakers last night. When it was all over, the Quakers were eight for 14 from three-point territory. Sophomore Erica McCauley set the tone for Penn's guards early, hitting a long three just seconds into the game. Princeton's defense was geared towards containing Penn's inside game, but the Tigers didn't expect Penn's three-point shooting to extend across the board. Even Quakers freshman Colleen Kelly got into the action off the bench, hitting a key trey in each half. But the most exciting three belonged to Bowers five minutes into the game. A jet-propelled shot from nearly half-court sank just before the buzzer and fired up the Quakers' perimeter game for the rest of the contest. Bowers passed the 1,000 point mark and tied her career-high 24 points to lead the Quakers. On the inside, things were much cooler. After Rezek scored 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in their last meeting, Princeton focused on containing her with double- teaming. "Because [Rezek] has consistently come up with big games for us, that is going to open up the perimeter for the guards," Bowers said. "If we step up and play like we did tonight, if they try to stop our outside game, our inside is going to step up and vice versa." Rezek broke under the pressure and was one for six from the floor in the first half and only 2 for 9 shooting in the game. With five minutes elapsed in the second half, Rezek had already committed four fouls. Penn's power center was virtually invisible in the Quaker offense. "Natasha needs to read how the defense is coming at her a little better," Soriero said. "She needs to step out a little bit, or take the high post shot." On the other end of the court, the Quakers did some containing of their own. Princeton's star guard, Kim Allen, was held to only one point in the first half. Banks brought down six defensive rebounds and added two steals. Penn had a rollercoaster game, while Princeton worked steadily. The Quakers tore up the scoreboard with outside shots, but had no inside game to back up the perimeter shooters when they went cold.