Ivy sweep puts W. Hoops back in chase

The Penn women's basketball team has been patient. It outlasted a losing streak and injuries to starters. With thoughts of past games hovering in their minds, the Quakers defeated Yale and Brown at the Palestra this weekend. Penn easily overcame the Elis on Friday night, blowing them out 63-49. The second game was an intense battle to the buzzer -- and beyond. When the dust settled, the Quakers had withstood Brown, 74-70, in overtime. Everything fell into place for the triumphant Penn team. The two victories vault the Quakers into a tie for second place in the Ivy League, along with Brown, Princeton and Harvard. "We don't have an explanation," senior center Natasha Rezek said. "We have an explanation for why we lose and why we do everything wrong, but this time we just played well." The Quakers (6-11, 3-2 Ivy League) have been waiting for this moment. With the game on the line last season, senior co-captain Katina Banks missed free throws that would have given Penn the win. The Quakers lost to Brown twice last season by three total points. The year before, Brown blew out Penn at the Palestra. The Quakers had three starters in double figures Saturday against the Bears. Banks scored 15 and pulled down 11 boards. Sophomore guard Erica McCauley got into the offensive flow, chipping in with 14 points, including two baskets from three-point land. Freshman center Renata Zappala stepped up as well, grabbing eight rebounds and scoring eight points off the bench. "We were struggling to get shots, and we just let down defensively," Brown coach Jean Marie Burr said. "They were able to get the ball into the low block more easily than we would have liked. We had a difficult time denying the ball to Rezek and getting the weak side rebound." Rezek had a career night, scoring 22 points and pulling down 13 boards against the Bears. Even 6 foot, 6 inch center Martina Jerant could not stop Rezek, who also had two steals. "Penn plays perimeter defense better than anyone in the league," Burr said. "They force you to adjust your offenses." Coming out of halftime up two points, Penn had to battle throughout the second period. The Quakers gathered momentum throughout the contest. "Down the stretch we shot so well, I just knew we were going to win," Zappala said. "As soon as overtime came, we kept scoring. We kept getting defensive stops, so we just kept pulling ahead and ahead. Each time you make another basket, you just keep building more confidence, and it just goes on." The overtime period was nearly all Penn, as the Quakers scored 13 points in five minutes. "The whole team was working together so well.," Zappala said. "It was like we were reading each other's minds, knowing where we were going to go." Yale faced the same problem when it visited the Palestra the night before. In a sloppy contest, Penn easily overcame the Elis. The Penn offense was at full strength. The Quakers shot 45.1 from the field, their best shooting performance of the season. Rezek had a double-double, scoring 11 points and getting 11 rebounds. Senior forward Shelly Dieterle, who has made an excellent transition to the bench, scored six points and pulled down three rebounds. Along with Rezek, McCauley and Bowers each scored in double figures, hitting two three-pointers apiece. Penn's backcourt also outrebounded the Elis, as junior Kathleen Offer was the sole Yale guard with any boards. She had five, compared to 10 for Penn's backcourt tandem. Freshman Harmonee Williams contributed nearly half of Yale's rebounds by herself. "I give all the credit to their perimeter people," Yale coach Cecelia DeMarco said. "Both Bowers and McCauley did a nice job. The point guard hit every big shot she needed to hit, and Bowers hurt us in that she rebounded really well and made some nice second-effort stuff happen." Yale's perimeter game was poor Friday. While senior forward Mary Kalich had a game-high 20 points, the Elis shot only 15.4 percent from behind the arc. Overall, Yale's offense was stifled by the Quakers' consistent defense, which held the Elis to 32.3 percent shooting. "Their guards stood and watched," senior guard Shelly Bowers said. "It seemed almost easy to go in and get a putback or a defensive rebound. We took advantage of that weakness." "Penn deserved to win," DeMarco said. "They outplayed us. Bottom line, their perimeter people outplayed our perimeter people from the tap." The Quakers seem to have undergone some kind of transformation since winter break. Penn has seen a resurgence in offense recently. The backbone of the team, however, remains strong defense. "If the ball's not going to go in the hoop, we have no control over it," Rezek said. "We do have control over playing good, solid defense. We've been playing that all year long. Now we have the combination of that with our shots falling."