W. Hoops looks for first win vs. La Salle

What looked to be a promising campaign for the Penn women's basketball team last season was washed away with a disastrous 0-6 start to the season. Despite the loss of two key starters from last year's squad -- off-guard Shelly Bowers and small forward Katina Banks -- Penn had high ambitions again this year. But the '95-96 Quakers have hit the same pothole that plagued the team last year. With Wednesday's 86-48 loss to St. Joseph's, Penn dropped its record to 0-5. Again, the Quakers seem to be forfeiting any hopes of a .500 season. There is a silver lining to the disastrous start. Last year's team managed to turn it around the second half of the season, finishing with an 11-15 mark. Hopes of a similar revival are on the minds of the current Quakers. "I learned a lot about this team during the second half of last season," Penn coach Julie Soriero said before this season started. "It would have been really easy to just lay down, but they really fought back." Although the losses of Bowers and Banks have hurt, the three starters that return -- center Natasha Rezek, forward Deanna Lewis and point guard Erica McCauley -- certainly were key ingredients during the stretch run. It will have to be those three that step up if a repeat of last year's finish is to become a reality. The Quakers will have a chance to snap the streak tomorrow when they take on La Salle in the first half of a Big 5 doubleheader at Villanova at 1 p.m. With the Explorers next on the schedule, things certainly will not be getting easier for the struggling Penn squad. La Salle is 3-1 on the season and returns all five starters from last year's 20-10 team. Recently, though, it has been a bench player who has stepped to the forefront. Six-foot-one center Marci Willis has forced her way into the starting lineup, in large part due to her dominating 17-point, 12-rebound effort against Siena Wednesday. But the heart of the team continues to be forward Chrissie Donahue, who is ninth in the Atlantic Ten in scoring, averaging 14.7 points, and fifth in rebounding with 8.8 boards per game. With 10 points against Penn, Donahue will hit the 1,000-point plateau for her career. The key to the game from the Quakers' standpoint will be the interior play of Rezek and Lewis. They will have the task of trying to slow down Donahue and the La Salle frontcourt, which is in large part responsible for the Explorers' mind-boggling .482 field-goal percentage. Lewis will have to stay out of the foul trouble that plagued her against Lehigh and Northwestern. Unlike La Salle, which brings last year's starting center, Margit Rinke off the bench, Penn simply lacks the depth to compensate for Lewis' loss. But when Lewis is in the game, she can be dominating. In the St. Joe's game, she finished with 17 points and six rebounds, compensating for a mediocre performance from Rezek. Coming off an ordinary 14-point, six-board game against the Hawks, Rezek will asked to provide more typical numbers -- in the 20-point, 12-rebound range. Sophomore Renata Zappala may also see some action, if Soriero decides to go to a bigger lineup to clash with the La Salle forwards. Zappala has a nice touch around the hoop for a 6-foot center and is a strong post-up player. Like last year, the Quakers are finding that first win to be the toughest. The season is still a long way from over, as the returning players know, and the conference schedule has yet to begin. "Right know we aren't doing anything well," Soriero said. "We need to step up to the challenge." Photo by SAMY HOTIMSKY/The Daily Pennsylvanian Renata Zappala and the women's hoops team hope to avoid going 0-6 for the second straight season against La Salle Saturday.