W. Hoops surprise the Ivies, not themselves

The work of Diana Caramanico and the Penn women's basketball team brought results over break. Surprise! At the halfway point of the women's basketball season, Penn has already won five games -- just one less than its number of victories amassed in the entire 1996-97 season. Considering that the Quakers won their first two Ivy League games of the season for the first time since 1990, there is little reason to expect this improved play to cease. Winter vacation proved eventful for the Red and Blue, as Penn coach Julie Soriero got her 200th win December 28, beating St. Francis (N.Y.), 56-45. While Soriero brushed off the accomplishment, her players were excited to be a part of this milestone. "We were happy for her," Penn senior Michelle Maldonado said. "We got her a cake afterwards." The main reason for Penn's surprising success has been the play of freshman Diana Caramanico, who has already been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on four occasions. Caramanico leads Penn in scoring at 18.2 points per game, rebounding at 10.5 per game and field goal percentage at 52 percent. Caramanico credits team captains Maldonado and Colleen Kelly for helping her improve. "I don't consider myself a leader yet," the frosh said. "I haven't been around long enough." Although Caramanico has the team's best statistics, her presence inside is most effective when combined with Maldonado's all-around game and Kelly's perimeter shooting. Kelly continues to recover from the injury to her left media-collateral ligament that kept her out four games. She is a vital part of the Quaker team, and her presence was sorely missed in Villanova's 99-55 pounding of the Quakers. Her return against Princeton helped Penn open the Ivy League season with a come-from-behind 55-52 win at Jadwin Gymnasium. "She's not at full strength," Soriero said. "Her fatigue level and leg strength are not quite there yet." Another key to the victory over Princeton was a 20-point performance by Erin Ladley, who entered the game averaging 6.4 points per game. "Last week I thought it should have been Erin for Rookie of the Week," Caramanico said. "She outplayed the competition and gave Princeton something else to think about the next time we play them." Winter break gave the Quakers lots of practice time, with players returning to school December 26. The next nine days were mostly devoted to preparing for Princeton. Penn then had five more days to prepare for two games against Brown and Yale this weekend. "We tried to work a little bit more defensively," Soriero said. After time off, the Red and Blue needed the extra practice to get their conditioning back to a pre-break level. This conditioning is especially important for Penn because the Ivy League schedules back-to-back games almost every weekend. Since high school teams rarely play on consecutive nights, the predominantly freshman Quakers may initially have trouble adjusting. "Even when we played back-to-back nights in high school, there's 32 minutes in a game and it's not nearly as intense as college," Caramanico said. But despite Penn's success, parts of their game still need work. The rebounding has been inconsistent and turnovers are also a concern, as Penn averages 24 per game. But averaging only 14 per contest in the last three games illustrates a vast improvement. With another week off before their next game, the Quakers look to use the extra practice time to build on their surprising start.