W. Hoops can keep second with sweep

The Penn women's basketball team is out for revenge against Yale, which beat the Quakers 67-61 at the Palestra. The Penn women's basketball team left for Yale yesterday in search of respect and aggression -- on the boards. And what better to inspire them than their on-bus viewing of G.I. Jane? "We'll see if it helps," coach Julie Soriero said. "I'll let you know on Sunday." Penn (10-9, 5-2 Ivy League) continues its season-long quest for respect with a 7 p.m. start against Yale (10-10, 4-4) tonight in New Haven, Conn. The Quakers hope to avenge their 67-61 loss at the Palestra on January 10. Tomorrow, the Quakers head to Providence, R.I., to face Brown (8-12, 4-4) at 7 p.m. Both the Elis and the Bears come in with two-game winning streaks after sweeps of Columbia and Cornell. This weekend marks the beginning to the second half of the Ivy schedule, meaning the Quakers will face all of their Ivy opponents for a second time around. After a disappointing loss to the Elis early in the season, Penn enters tonight's action eager for revenge. "I don't think we should have lost the first time," Penn co-captain Colleen Kelly said. "It was a learning experience and we're better than we were." The main concern entering both games is rebounding. The Quakers were out-rebounded 53-36 by Brown and 43-33 by Yale. But Penn managed to squeak out a 78-68 victory over the Bears, despite the rebounding numbers. "We've got to do a better job getting second shot opportunities," Soriero said. Penn enters the game having split a home weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth. With five wins in their last six games, the Quakers are tied with Princeton for second in the Ivy League, one game behind Harvard. Penn freshman center Diana Caramanico leads the Quakers with 19.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for an amazing eighth time this season on the strength of her 31 points and 16 rebounds against Dartmouth. Caramanico led all scorers with 23 points in the first game against Yale. The Elis were led by forward Alyson Miller, who scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. But the real story against Yale was fatigue. It was the season's first Ivy League set of back-to-back games, and only the second overall for a team with 10 freshmen. "I don't think we came out ready to play Yale," Soriero said. "Now we're more seasoned and improved defensively. We just have to cut down our turnovers." The only significant change for the second matchup with Yale will be the Quaker defending Miller. Soriero plans to put senior co-captain Michelle Maldonado on her to avoid a repeat performance. On Saturday Penn will face a Brown team that has failed to live up to expectations. After a second-place Ivy League finish last season, the Bears started the Ivy League season 2-4. Their 78-68 loss to Penn was their first Ivy League game of the season, as the Bears entered the contest confident they'd beat a Quakers team that finished dead last, 2-14 in the Ivies, last year. "I still don't think they respect us," Kelly said. "I think they fully expect to [win]." The first game against Brown saw Kelly come off the bench to score 28 points in only 24 minutes. Erin Ladley also recorded the first double-double of her career, 12 points and 10 assists, while playing all 40 minutes. The Bears were led by guard Vita Redding, who scored all 21 of her points in the second half. For the season, Redding leads the Bears with 17.8 points per game. Liz Turner is second on the team in scoring and rebounding at 14.6 and 5.9, respectively. "We need to limit [Redding] and keep her points down," Soriero said. "Turner complements her well because they play on opposite sides of the perimeter." While fatigue was clearly an issue for the young team early in the season, the Quakers seem to have adjusted to playing on back-to-back nights, sweeping Columbia and Cornell two weeks ago. "We've got one Ivy trip under our belts," Caramanico said. "We know when to sleep, when not to sleep, what to eat." The Quakers main area of concern is the rebounding disaster of their first matchup against Brown and Yale. But if Demi Moore as a Navy Seal can inspire the Quakers, the Bears and Elis don't stand a chance.