Hawks blow past W. Hoops

A 19-2 run at the beginning of the second half sparked St. Joseph's to a runaway 86-48 defeat of the Penn women's basketball team last night at Alumni Field House. For the Quakers (0-5), the loss in the season's Big 5 opener was the 21st in 21 tries against the Hawks (2-2). It was especially disappointing because of the superb first half Penn had played, trailing by just three points at the intermission. But the six minutes after the break, in which St. Joseph's opened up an impregnable 20-point lead, were characterized by Penn mistakes and some brilliant shooting by the home team. In just that short period, Hawks captain Katherine Sullivan went four of four from three-point range, en route to a game-high 24 points on seven-of-11 shooting, all from outside the arc. Six Penn turnovers were the impetus for the spirit-crushing run. "I don't think our intensity matched up to theirs," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. The first half had been highly encouraging for the Quakers, as they matched the more athletic Hawks every step of the way. Early 11-4 and 27-16 St. Joe's leads were dissipated by Penn's inside play and some timely shooting. Particularly effective were point guard Erica McCauley, whose two three-pointers were pivotal early, and forward Deana Lewis, who scored the last six points of the opening half. That left the Quakers down 29-26 to a team whose two losses have come at the hands of Top 25 teams. "We played a really great first half," Soriero said. But the second half began ominously. The Quakers inbounded the ball at midcourt and proceeded to give the ball away on a backcourt violation. Then came the Hawks' second-half spurt, which ended any hopes Penn had of stealing a road victory. The Quakers continued playing their starting five well into the second half, using it as an additional practice. "I think sometimes it's good to run stuff against different people," Soriero said. St. Joseph's had utilized full-court pressure through much of the game, but relaxed with a big lead. The Hawks also took to winding the 30-second shot clock down and taking jump shots. They gradually built their victory margin to 38 by stifling the Quakers' offense. In fact, it took a long range trey at the buzzer from Caryn Greene for Penn to avoid repeating their season-low for scoring in a half -- 19 against Northwestern. St. Joseph's allowed 26 fewer points to the Quakers than they had been averaging. Deana Lewis (17 points, 6 rebounds) led the way for Penn, which also received a notable contribution inside from center Natasha Rezek (14 points, 7 boards). The Quakers players preferred not to dwell on the loss to the clearly superior Big 5 opposition. "We aren't going to face anyone in the Ivy League who has five players that can do as much on the floor," said McCauley, who had a game-high seven assists. "We have to give St. Joe's credit." The statistics demonstrate what gave the Hawks their lopsided victory: good rebounding and the three point shot. St. Joseph's dominated the boards 41-23, including twice as many offensive rebounds. They also shot over 40 percent from behind the circle, picking up 30 points.