W. Hoops celebrates new year by winning league opener

Touchy officating marrs Saturday's game against visiting Brown. Going into the first Ivy weekend of the season at the Palestra last Friday, the Penn women's basketball team had to be a little nervous. For coach Julie Soriero and her squad, the two games against Yale and Brown were the first chances to show that last season, in which the Quakers went winless in their first 10 Ivy games, was truly behind them. The team had played well over the break, taking two out of three from non-conference opponents. But it knew that the true measuring stick for how far it had come lay in the Ivies, and their ability to put the ghost of the 1995-96 season to rest for good. For the most part, Penn did just that. A convincing win over Yale Friday night, followed by a close loss to Brown on Saturday, enabled the Quakers (4-7, 1-1 Ivy League) to show the rest of the league that they not only could compete, but would be a force to contend with in their own right. Against Yale (4-8, 1-1), the Quaker's used a 17-2 run in the second half to blow a close game wide open and went on to cruise to a 57-47 win. Twice, late in the game the Elis were able to pull within six, but Penn's defense refused to allow them to get any closer. Shelly Fogarty led the Quakers with her first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. She attributed the second half explosion to Soriero's advice at halftime to use their defense, which limited Yale to 27% shooting from the field in the second half, to create more opportunities. "(Soriero) said the if we pushed it more on defense and forced more turnovers, we would score more points," Fogarty said. "I told them we were getting good shots, and that they just weren't dropping," Soriero said. "If shots aren't dropping we have to step up our defense and the offense will come." The loss to Brown (7-6, 2-0), was an ugly one, insofar as 50 fouls and 49 turnovers were committed in the game, with 30 of those turnovers being attributed to the Quakers. The officials allowed absolutely no contact during the game, turning it at times into little more than a free throw contest. Eight minutes into the second half, both teams were in the penalty and the Quakers were dealt a crushing blow when their two best guards, freshman Chelsea Hathaway and Colleen Kelly, fouled out late in the game. Harsh as the officiating may have seemed, one thing was for certain -- it was equally bad for both teams. Coaches and players from both squads often seemed bewildered by some of the calls made. "Regardless of how bad the officials were, we still have got to play above and beyond that," Soriero said. "We have to adjust our game." For the first 30 minutes of the game the two teams traded fouls, turnovers and leads. A 15-4 run by Brown with six minutes remaining, inspired by the three-point shooting of guard Vita Redding, who finished the game with 25 points, opened up a 68-60 lead for the Bears. Though there were some tense moments in the final few minutes, as the Quakers cut the lead to as little as three with 2:32 remaining, Brown held on for the 87-79 win. For Penn, the loss wasted a valiant effort by their two best inside players, Michelle Maldonado and Deana Lewis, each finishing with 25 points as Maldonado also chipped in 13 boards. Their performances were offset, however, by Brown's Redding and forward Liz Turner, who finished with a game high 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting. "Liz Turner and Vita Redding really just controlled what happened in that game," Soriero said. "They did a great job." Despite the loss, the Quakers have to feel good about the way they are playing. In the second half of the Yale game they were clearly the better team, despite falling into serious foul trouble. "I think we're a young team making young mistakes," Soriero said. "I think our focus could have been better the second night, but overall I'm happy with our effort." "We have to be a little tougher mentally," Maldonado said. "But we're a good team this year. This was just the first weekend and a split isn't that bad. We're looking forward to the rest of the year."