W. Hoops takes aim at second place

Penn needs two victories against Cornell and Columbia this weekend to keep its bid alive for a second-place Ivy finish. The clock is running down. The Penn women's basketball team is leading by 20 points. Colleen Kelly drives toward the basket and kicks it out to? Michelle Maldonado? Maldonado for three? it's good! The senior co-captain and starting forward, has only made 1-of-14 three-point attempts in her four years at Penn. But with her final season winding down, Maldonado practiced her three-point shot for a few minutes at the end of practice yesterday. Maldonado's extra practice from long distance won't change the Quakers' strategic focus. After tough losses at Dartmouth and Harvard last weekend, Penn (11-12, 6-5 Ivy League) returns home to face Ivy League doormats Cornell (5-19, 2-10) tonight at 7 p.m. and Columbia (4-19, 0-12) tomorrow night at 7 p.m. "We respect our opponents enough to know that we can't change anything," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "It's our last home weekend, and we want a strong finish in the Ivy League." Columbia comes into the game with 13 consecutive losses. Cornell has only lost eight straight, but that number swells to 14 when its two wins over the Lions are excluded. The Quakers, however, are happy to be fighting for second place after last year's 11 consecutive losses to end the season. "Places are a big deal for us because we used to be finishing at the bottom," senior co-captain Kelly said. "It's about pride." While last weekend's events left Harvard in firm control of their third consecutive Ivy League title, the race for second is still wide open. Although the Quakers are currently in sixth place, they are only one game behind second place Dartmouth and Princeton. Finishing the season with three wins will probably mean a second place finish for the Quakers, who were picked last in the preseason. The last time Penn faced this weekend's opponents, they managed their first Ivy League road weekend sweep in seven years. "My goal is to win the games this weekend," Kelly said. "The problem [last time] was that we went out ahead in both games and let them back in it." The Big Red are led by forward Kim Ruck, who averages 11.8 points per game and was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll this week. Although the Quakers held Ruck to eight points in their first meeting, she is coming off a 21-point performance at Yale. Freshman Diana Caramanico led Penn with 28 points and 10 rebounds in their 71-61 victory in Ithaca, N.Y. The Quakers overcame a 44-28 rebounding deficit with a zone defense that shut the Big Red down in the second half. "Our zone has been pretty effective in all our games," Soriero said. Columbia has lost 13 straight Ivy League games dating back to a two-point victory over the Quakers last year. The Lions are led by freshman forward Shawnee Pickney, who had the fourth double-double of her career at Brown last weekend. Pickney pulled down 18 rebounds in the last meeting between the two teams, which the Quakers won 58-52. Kelly paced the Quakers with 22 points in the game against Columbia, which included five three-pointers. Columbia out-rebounded Penn 52-47 despite a good job on the boards by Quakers guards. "Rebounding has been a concern all season," Caramanico said. "If we rebound well, things tend to go our way." Besides the quest for second place, the Quakers hope to help Kelly and Maldonado end their college careers with three consecutive wins. Kelly grinned when asked whether she planned on trying anything special in her last few games. "I probably wouldn't be allowed," Kelly said. The Quakers are confident they will avoid a letdown this weekend and beat Cornell and Columbia once again. With a weekend sweep and a win over Princeton Tuesday night, Kelly and Maldonado will probably finish their careers with a second place finish. Kelly broke Penn's career three-point record with number 161 last weekend. If Penn blows out this weekend's opponents, however, Kelly's record may be in jeopardy as Maldonado is only 160 behind. And don't think she hasn't been practicing.