W. Hoops finishes third in Ivies

In the first half of the season, finishing third in the Ivy League seemed like a long shot. But the Penn women's basketball team defied all expectations and achieved third place in the Ancient Eight with a 72-58 win over Brown March 3. The next day the Quakers (11-15, 8-6 Ivy League) lost to Yale, 62-50, but it did not affect their final standing. "Our goal was to finish in third," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "We knew we had to do it." Last time they faced Brown, the Quakers had to win in overtime after a late run in the second half. This time, Penn seemed to have learned its lesson and came out fighting from the start. "This time our goal was to own the game," Soriero said. "I don't think Brown ever led the game." Penn's decisive victory was sparked by its aggressive defense. Brown's 6-foot-5 center Martina Jerant was stopped dead in her tracks. Jerant, a first-team all-Ivy selection and former Ivy League player of the year, was held to only two points from the field. "We did a great job on Martina Jerant," Soriero said. "Our defense really generated a lot of our offense." With a balanced scoring attack from all five starters, the Quakers were unstoppable on the offensive end. Senior Natasha Rezek led Penn with 17 points, while classmates Shelly Bowers and Katina Banks had 16 and 15, respectively. Sophomore Deana Lewis shot 100 percent from both the field and the free throw line to score a total of eight points, while sophomore point guard Erica McCauley poured in another 11. "The people we depend on to produce really came through," Soriero said. The offense was also electrified by Penn's accurate perimeter shooting. Bowers and McCauley each hit three treys, and freshman Colleen Kelly came off the bench to sink another. Bowers had eight assists against Brown but finished her career slightly shy of the all-time Penn record. Penn's loss to Yale the next night was just the opposite picture. The Quakers were held to only 15 points in the first half before they came back in the second half to keep the score from getting embarrassing. Penn defeated Yale earlier in the season, but struggled this time just to make it respectable. "It's what typically happens when you have a great game Friday," Soriero said. "Unfortunately, the Yale result didn't really have any importance. We had already accomplished what we wanted to." Penn hit only 7 of 23 shots from the field in the first half, which ended with Yale on top 33-15. The Quakers had only three assists while allowing the Bulldogs 12 steals over the entire game. Yale's Mary Kalich scored 18 points for the game with very little resistance. But when the Quakers ran onto the court after halftime, they were a new team. They outscored Yale 35-29 in the second half. Rezek played a critical role in the comeback. She scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Rebounding was the key to pulling within striking distance. Penn finished with 36 boards -- 11 more than it had in the previous night's win. "We started to rebound the ball more aggressively in the second half," Soriero said. "It became an issue of pride. We said, 'We have third place, let's really own it.' " Although their entire season was a comeback run, the Quakers couldn't pull one off against Yale. Their tough effort was too late. Fortunately for Penn, their victory the previous day had already sealed their third-place finish. · Three members of the squad were rewarded for leading the Quakers to their most successful season since 1982 with all-Ivy honors. Rezek and Bowers made second-team all-Ivy while McCauley earned an honorable mention.