Penn finishes in dismal fashion

Teams typically establish goals before each game and prior to each season. Unfulfilled game goals, however, often lead to disappointing season objectives. Last night's second meeting between the Penn and the Princeton women's basketball teams provides case and point. Penn coach Julie Soriero certainly hoped her team would score more points than the 45 they did last week in the first matchup between the teams. She also wanted the team to play the same solid defense that allowed the Tigers a mere 48 points, despite the resultant loss. Princeton forward Kim Allen made sure that the Quakers only achieved the first of those goals, albeit a paltry 46 points. The Tigers' lone senior led her team in nearly every offensive and defensive category. For the game, Allen carried the Tigers with not only a strong scoring game with 14 points, but also five rebounds, five steals, three assists and only one turnover. The result was a resounding 76-46 Princeton victory. With the win, the Tigers (7-19, 6-8 Ivy League) moved into a fifth-place tie with Yale. For Penn (6-20, 2-12) the loss dropped it into last place with one fewer league win than they had in last season's difficult campaign. "It's been a disappointing season with wins and losses," Penn senior co-captain Amy Tarr said. "Comparing it to last year, we were in so many more games this year." The first three minutes of last night's game saw both teams trading baskets on their way to what seemed to be another battle. Penn's leading scorer and rebounder, junior forward Michelle Maldonado, scored her first points of the night to knot the score at eight with just under 17 minutes to play in the first half. One of the keys for the Tigers' victory was that they held Maldonado to just four points and four rebounds. A basket by Princeton freshman guard Maggie Langlas gave the Tigers a harmless-looking 10-8 lead. But in each subsequent minute of the half, Princeton refused to relinquish that lead In fact, they increased it. Between Maldonado's first basket of the half and her second -- and final -- basket of the game with 35.5 seconds left in the first half, the Tigers put together a 19-2 run on their way to a 34-17 halftime lead over the Quakers. "The big problem was they made a run in the first half and we had a dry spell. We never responded to that call," Tarr said. "After halftime, we came out and played with more intensity and togetherness, but we never made a big enough run to get back into the game." Freshman forward Shelly Fogarty led Penn with 11 points. Senior forward Deana Lewis wrapped up her career with nine rebounds to go with eight points. "It's a strange feeling going in to the locker room knowing that I'm not going to play at the same level with the same people in a Pennsylvania uniform," Lewis said after the game. "It's difficult to imagine myself not playing basketball." In the second half, it was more of the same for the Quakers. The closest they could get to the Tigers was 21 points with 9:11 left in the second half. Allen and Langlas were the two main reasons the Quakers could not mount a strong enough comeback in the second half. Allen chipped in eight of her team-high 14 points in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half. Langlas also scored 14 points, but split it evenly between the halves. She shot an impressive 5-for-5 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from long range. Tigers sophomore Lea Ann Drohan contributed another 10 points. Princeton, as a team, shot 54 percent on the night , 7-for-14 from three-point range, while holding the Quakers to just 30 percent for the game and a single made three-pointer, from junior Colleen Kelly. She fell just seven three-pointers short of setting the Quakers' season record for accurate three-pointers. Penn, as has been problematic all year, was plagued by turnovers. The Quakers' 22 turnovers resulted directly in 23 Princeton points. Penn left Princeton disappointed that they were unable to avenge last week's loss to the Tigers and, on the grander scale, that they had not fulfilled their bright early season expectations.