'Nova crushes Quakers

The Penn women's basketball team needed a miracle to defeat a significantly better Villanova team last night. But in a season which has been on the wrong side of purgatory for the Quakers, Penn's prayers once again fell on deaf ears. The Wildcats doubled up the Quakers, 86-43, at Temple's McGonigle Hall in a game that was decided well before the half. While the Quakers did not concede the victory to the Wildcats, they knew that it would take a near-perfect game to win. "It's hard to develop confidence to go after a win in a game like this," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. Penn's record fell to 0-17 (0-4 Big 5), the worst record of any Division I school in the country, while Villanova improved to 16-4, and wrapped up the Big 5 title. The first half started out slowly. The Quakers hung around for all of five minutes, trailing by only four, 10-6. But after that it was all 'Nova. Wildcats point guard Sue Glenning did most of the damage, hitting 6-of-9 shots, including three treys, on her way to 15 points for the half. "We felt that their perimeter shooters could hurt us, and they did," Soriero said. By the time the half was over, the Wildcats had opened up a 55-19 lead. Villanova hit 67.6 percent of its shots from the field for the half. The Wildcats' performance was reminiscent of the job Temple did on the Quakers one week ago, when the Owls shot the lights out on the same court. "It must be the gym," Penn forward Deana Lewis said. "Everything they put up went in." Early in the second half, 'Nova coach Harry Perretta pulled most of his starters four minutes into the second half, after opening up a 63-22 lead. But Penn wasn't able to get any closer than 39 points the rest of the game, and many of Penn's starters also sat out most of the second half. Soriero was able to give her bench extended playing time, and some of the results were encouraging. Junior guard Patti Loyack, in the second start of her career, contributed a season-high six points. Six-foot-four freshman center Carrie Fleck also saw her first significant minutes of the season. Fleck's presence in the middle caused the Wildcats to alter many of their shots. But it was freshman Sue Van Stone's performance that gave the Quakers the most hope for the future. After a slow first half, Van Stone led Penn with seven points and four rebounds in the second half, on her way to nine points and five boards for the game. Van Stone could be the player who steps forward to provide the Quakers with a much-needed third scoring option. "I was more aggressive offensively in the second half," Van Stone said. "I didn't let the fact that they are second in the Big East intimidate me." Yesterday's game concluded Penn's out-of-conference schedule. The Quakers will now be able to fully concentrate on moving up the Ivy League standings. Despite their record, the Quakers are optimistic, especially considering there are no more Villanovas on the schedule. "You have to give the other teams credit," Penn captain Natasha Rezek said. "They could easily fall asleep against teams like us." Player for player, the Quakers match up much better against the other Ivy League teams than against schools like Villanova and Temple. But Penn still maintains it is only a matter of time before it gets its first win. "We're going to come out and unleash against the next team," Van Stone said. "We have too many good players not to win this season."