W, Hoops swept in Evanston

For Penn center Natasha Rezek, this past weekend was supposed to be a sort of homecoming. A resident of Oak Park, Ill., Rezek grew up in the shadow of Northwestern. So when the women's basketball team set off for Evanston, Ill., to compete in the Roger White Invitational, Rezek had the opportunity to show off her skills in front of friends, family and her high school coach. But the games did not follow Rezek's script. The Quakers (0-4) lost their first-round matchup with host and eventual champion Northwestern, 84-44. In the consolation game, Penn was defeated by Loyola (Md.), which lost to Kentucky in the first round. The Quakers fell behind early against the Wildcats (5-0). By halftime, Penn was already looking to the third-place game. Northwestern, ranked 40th in the nation, pounded the overmatched Quakers en route to a 53-19 lead at intermission. "They only had [four] more shots than us in the first half," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "It's not like we weren't getting into our offensive sets. They were just hitting all of their shots." Penn kept the score respectable in the second half, only getting outscored by six points. Soriero switched to a zone defense, hoping to prevent the Wildcats from getting the high-percentage inside points they were hitting early in the game. The adjustment worked. Pressured to take more outside shots, Northwestern's shooting percentage went down from 64.5 percent in the first half to 41.2 percent in the second. "By then, we had such a deficit, all we were trying to do was close the gap," Soriero said. "Maybe I should have made the decision to change to zone earlier." The closer play of the second half was in large part due to Wildcats coach Don Pirelli's decision to play many of his bench players. Every Northwestern player played at least 13 minutes, and all but one Wildcat scored. Despite playing just 24 minutes, Northwestern star guard Michele Ratay dominated the action, posting 20 points and dishing out six assists. Wildcats center Katrina Hannaford had a solid game as well, scoring 13 points and pulling down six boards. But more important than the statistics, Hannaford was able to neutralize Rezek. Although Rezek nearly got a double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds, she was not the dominant force in the paint she usually is. Her five turnovers were also uncharacteristic. "There was so much coming at Natasha -- going home, playing in front of everyone -- I think the hype got to her," Soriero said. "She got off to a poor start and got frustrated. Then just when she started to get back into the flow, she took an elbow to the nose and had to sit out the rest of the [first] half." Like in the first game, the Quakers got off to a slow start against Loyola (1-2) and were unable to come back. It was not as bad as the 34-point deficit in the Northwestern game, but Penn did find itself down 45-32 at intermission. The Quakers came back after halftime, though, and played their finest half of the tournament. Penn nearly dug out of the 15-point hole, but the clock was not on its side. Penn cut the lead to three points with 51.1 seconds remaining but could not complete the comeback, losing 67-60. Rezek stepped up and put together a performance more indicative of her ability. She finished the game with 21 points and 11 boards, earning all-tournament honors. Penn forward Deanna Lewis also rebounded from a poor first game. After finishing with just seven points and four rebounds, Lewis stepped up against the Greyhounds, pouring in 19 points. In the championship game, Northwestern proved its 40-point win over the Quakers was no fluke. The Wildcats crushed Kentucky (3-2), 78-42, keeping the trophy in Evanston. "I told Don Pirelli that when he accepted the winner's trophy, he should thank us for resting his starters," Soriero said.