W. Hoops falters, loses 16th straight

In a continuation of the downward spiral that has marked its season, the Penn women's basketball went 0-2 on its tour of New York, falling to Cornell on Friday, 74-50, and Columbia on Saturday, 61-49. The Quakers' record fell to 0-16, matching last season's loss total, as the team reached what coach Julie Soriero hopes is the low point in their season. "The point I made to them after the Columbia game is they have to prove to myself and themselves that they still deserve to wear the Penn uniform with pride," Soriero said. Penn's downfall this weekend could be traced to the dominating performances of the Lions' and Big Red's backcourts. While Quakers guards Colleen Kelly and Amy Tarr suffered through two of their worst games of the season, combining for just four points on the weekend, Columbia and Cornell picked Penn apart with the all-around play of their guards. On paper, the Columbia game appeared to be one of Penn's best chances to claim a victory this season. The Lions entered the game struggling almost as much as the Quakers, with a record of 1-16 and a tie for last place in the Ivy League. But Columbia went to its strength and used the penetrating ability of guards Colleen Touey and Rose Jackson to break down Penn's defense. "I did not expect them to penetrate as easily as they did in our game plan," Soriero said. After the Columbia guards blew by the Quakers on the perimeter, inside players Natasha Rezek and Deana Lewis were forced to rotate over to help out on defense. Rezek and Lewis both picked up two quick fouls in the first half, but it was Rezek's second foul that turned the game to the Lions' favor. Rezek left with eight minutes left in the first half and the Quakers up 18-14. By the time she returned five minutes later, the Lions were up 29-18 on their way to a 32-22 halftime lead. "The fouls changed the strength on our offense," Soriero said. "When Natasha went to the bench, we didn't score for five minutes. But it could have been prevented." Penn switched to a zone defense to combat the Lions' game plan. But Touey and Jackson responded by hitting five out of 12 three pointers for the game, sealing Penn's fate. The Quakers never cut the lead to single digits in the second half and lost despite outrebounding Columbia, 50-35, and receiving 24 points from Rezek. The story was much the same at Cornell on Friday. The Big Red dominated from the start, jumping out to an early 11-point lead that was stretched to a 35-20 halftime advantage. Cornell guard Mary LaMacchia lead the way with four first-half treys and 25 points for the game. Penn got solid games from Rezek, who led the team with 20 points, and Lewis, who added 15 points and 11 boards. But the Quakers went 0-for-7 from three-point range, failing to put together anything resembling a perimeter game. "Cornell circled the wagons on our inside players," Soriero said. "So we went to an inside-out game, but we couldn't hit from the perimeter." Penn's play from outside was especially discouraging after the Quakers had realized their most balanced scoring output in their loss to Temple last week. Hope Smith and Tarr, who both stepped up against Temple, had eight points combined for the weekend, with Tarr's two points coming with three seconds left in the game against Cornell. "The question I have now is which is the truer measure of their level of performance," Soriero said, "how they played against Temple or how they played against Cornell and Columbia." But no one fell as far as point guard Kelly. After scoring 22 points and tying a Penn record with six three-pointers against Temple, she scored only one basket all weekend. Despite playing against weaker competition, Kelly's performance was a far cry from the flashes of greatness that she had shown recently. "I don't understand how someone can score 22 points in one game and then get one layup in two games," Soriero said. "Colleen is very talented, but she hasn't shown the consistency she needs to be a great player." The Quakers desperately need someone to step up to back the play of Rezek and Lewis. Penn may have found that player in Michelle Maldonado, whose inspired play (seven points, 12 rebounds) against Columbia has vaulted her into the starting role at the three position. "I'm just getting into sync with the team," Maldonado said. "My role is to assume any role that needs to be filled." Penn will need others to raise their level of play if they hope to end their slide. As a winless team with 10 games left, the only thing they are playing for is pride. But what remains to be seen is if pride is a big enough factor to win a game.