W. HOOPS NOTEBOOK: Seniors instrumental in W. Hoops' recent success

Senior leadership is important to any team effort. After all, it is the seniors who have been through the wars already. They have seen it all before. They are the veterans that help bring the rest of the group along. For the Penn women's basketball team, the four seniors have been a few of the consistent parts of a roller-coaster season. The Quakers (10-15, 7-5 Ivy League) were winless for the first month of the year, losing their first four games in a row. After defeating Lehigh, Penn went into another slump, losing four more games in only a week. "Losing shouldn't be fun," Penn coach Julie Soriero said earlier in the year, when the Quakers were 2-12. "Losing isn't fun. As hard as it is to see them in tears after a game, it's nice to know they still care. It's hard to keep them up. You've got to get on them a little bit about the mistakes that caused the loss, but you also encourage them for the effort." After a blowout loss to Villanova in mid-January, the Quakers exploded for a school record-tying five-game winning streak. Penn is now in a third-place tie in the Ivy League with Princeton. If the Quakers hold on, this will be their highest Ivy finish since the 1990-91 season. "You get tired of losing," Soriero said. "If you think you can hold onto something that's going to make you win, whether it's being consistent on defense and trying to play it for 40 minutes, then you latch onto that." Penn has played solid defense all year, keyed by senior co-captain Shelly Bowers' move to shooting guard after winter break. Back in her natural position, Bowers proceeded to pick up her game. She became the 10th player to reach the 1,000-point mark against Princeton Feb. 7. She is now fifth on Penn's all-time scoring list. Bowers has also been the most unselfish Quaker, leading the squad in assists with 105. Already Penn's scoring and rebounding leader with 13.3 points and 10.4 boards per game, senior center Natasha Rezek recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 18 points and 18 rebounds against Cornell. She has been a strong presence on both ends of the court for the Quakers. Senior co-captain Katina Banks tied the Penn record for steals with 205 Saturday night against Cornell. She is currently ranked fifth in the Ivy League. "We have the luxury of a lot of balance," Bowers said. "We're a team where, on any given night, if you try to stop one person, another will pick up the slack. I think that's pretty rare. I think we're a special team in that area." Senior forward Shelly Dieterle has added to the team as well, although she has done it from the bench. After starting early in the season, Dieterle stepped aside to make room for the more-powerful sophomore forward Deana Lewis. As a reserve, Dieterle has been solid, averaging four points and shooting 36.3 percent from the field in limited action. "Just as losing is contagious, winning is," Dieterle said. "Now we're just playing with confidence. We have a lot of time on this team, and it all comes out when you're confident." Penn had Senior Night for the women's team last Saturday against Cornell. Before the game, the four graduating players received bouquets of roses. After Penn defeated the Big Red, champagne flowed in the locker room. The Ivy win was a fitting end to four Palestra careers. "My team is very close in general," Soriero said after the game. "Senior Night gives them a great opportunity to show their appreciation for the people who have given four great years here. I think it has a lot of effect. Everybody's happy with the outcome and happy that the seniors played the game they played. They're happy with what this night feels like." The Quakers cannot win the Ivy title this year, but they have taken a major step in that direction. "Our goal is to finish third," Soriero said. "We have to beat Brown, but that's okay. We know what we have to do to get the job done."

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