WOMEN'S HOOPS NOTEBOOK: Ladley's improvement key for W. Hoops

Coach Julie Soriero wrapped up practice yesterday with freshman point guard Erin Ladley on the line shooting a pair of foul shots. If she missed, the team had to run. The Quakers did wind sprints. After a shuttle run on the Weightman Hall court, Soriero transformed from coach into teacher, explaining to her young team the reason for placing the added pressure on her point guard. "They'll be looking to foul our point guard hard late in the game," Soriero told her team. The ninth-year Quakers' coach wanted to acclimate Ladley to pressure situations, such as standing behind the charity stripe late in a contest. With the departure of last year's point guards Chelsea Hathaway and Hope Smith, Ladley was immediately thrown into action this season. Although she had never played in the backcourt before, Ladley was asked to try out as Penn's ball distributor. Early on, it was a struggle. But last weekend, No. 25 came of age. In Friday night's 78-68 upset victory over Brown, Ladley earned her first career double-double, scoring 12 points and dishing 10 assists, while playing the full 40 minutes. In Saturday night's 67-61 loss to Yale, Ladley again played the duration, scoring 13, grabbing 5 rebounds and distributing 4 assists. "We've come a long way and we're starting to put things together," Ladley said. "In high school I was basically a post. Now I'm playing [the guards and small forward]. It was a new adjustment." On the season, Ladley is averaging 7.4 points and 3.4 assists per game. · While Ladley has only recently stepped up her play, another Penn freshman -- 6'2" center Diana Caramanico -- has played like a veteran from the get-go. The biggest surprise in this week's Ivy Honor Roll had to be that Caramanico was not selected Ivy Rookie of the Week. The Blue Bell, Pa. native had earned that honor four times in eight weeks. She leads the Quakers with 17.8 points per game and is 19th in the country in rebounding, at 10.8 per contest. Last weekend it was more of the same for the frosh, who racked up 33 points and 17 boards in the two contests. "I don't know how to explain it," Caramanico said. "I came in just hoping for some playing time. Now that I've figured out my roll, I want to at least sustain what I've accomplished so far. Caramanico has capitalized on mismatches down low as opposing defenses try to keep Penn senior Michelle Maldonado outside the paint. While Maldonado's 11.1 points and 7.6 boards per game is a significant drop-off from her 15.0 and 10.4 in 1996-97, the combo's sum contribution in the paint outweighs the Maldonado-Deana Lewis tandem of last season, when Maldonado was often the beneficiary of teams doubling down on Lewis. · Want the secret to getting a big scoring output from Penn senior guard Colleen Kelly? Injure her. When Kelly is playing in pain, her scoring numbers actually increase. Last season, the Penn shooting guard went on a scoring spree midseason after turning her ankle. On Friday night at Brown, wearing a heavy knee brace, Kelly came off the bench to pour in 28 points in 24 minutes, including 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Soriero attributes this phenomena to opposing defenses focusing less on Kelly when she's in a physical state where they do not expect her to perform. "The fact that Colleen is even on the floor is a tribute to her desire to contribute," Soriero said. Kelly's knee is still far from 100 percent. The senior guard opted for physical therapy yesterday instead of a full practice. · While the freshmen are coming together with Maldonado, Kelly and junior Sue Van Stone to form a cohesive unit, rebounding is still a major stumbling block. Penn was out-rebounded 53-36 at Brown and 43-33 at Yale this weekend. While Caramanico and Maldonado are getting to the glass, the shorter Quakers are having all kinds of difficulties grabbing the longer rebounds. Fatigue and inexperience likely play a factor in Penn's struggles, since the Quakers' backcourt is not undersized, but strength and jumping ability also play a roll. "Especially our guards have to do a better job on the box out," Soriero said. "They have to chase down rebounds and be aggressive."