W. Hoops 'pressed' to find year's first win

Let's face it -- college is about learning. The Penn women's basketball team, for one, has been living in its own age of enlightenment, with each game teaching a different valuable lesson. Against Villanova, the Quakers learned that tough defense is not the only ingredient for success. Against Towson, they saw just how much an opponent can exploit the team's lack of intensity. And against Temple last Saturday, the Quakers discovered the painful truth that even an 18 point lead doesn't guarantee victory. But the question is, when will all of these revelations translate into a win for the 0-3 squad? According to Penn sophomore guard Erin Ladley, tonight's 7 p.m. game against St. Francis (0-1) is as good a time as any. "We've got to put our losses behind us and start over [today]," Ladley said. "We've gotten all of our mistakes out in the past three games." The Quakers are certainly prepared for their opponents. A scouting report shows that Towson runs a similar offense to Penn's, which should make defending the Terriers a bit easier. "They use a triangle offense like we do, but they run some different options out of that set," Ladley said. "We got familiar with their cuts in practice, so hopefully we'll be a step ahead." But unfortunately for the Quakers, the scouting report also reveals similarities between St. Francis and Temple. The full court press they can expect from the Terriers today looks much like the one that turned the Quakers' comfortable lead against the Owls into a disappointing loss last weekend. According to Penn freshman forward Julie Epton, however, the Quakers are prepared for that too. "We worked in practice on how to break the press efficiently," Epton said. "We have to look for everyone and stay calm. Against Temple we got frantic, and we broke down." According to Ladley, Temple's aggressive press forced the Quakers to throw risky passes and their trapping defense preyed on Penn's tendency to move toward the court's corners. "We got the ball low in the corners, which isn't a good place to pass it from," Ladley said. "We were off-balance, and we couldn't look up the court for each other." Yesterday's practice focused on eliminating those errors, according to Epton. "We scrimmaged in segments of pressure and tried to avoid getting into positions where you can get trapped," she said. With the Terriers' offense and defense well researched, it is no wonder Penn sophomore Diana Caramanico called today's game, "winnable." "We need to get off the ground," Caramanico said. "We've been playing well, but we have no wins to show for it. We can win if we play our game." And they had better win because a loss today will harm more than just Penn's record, according to Caramanico. "My goal is to win," she said. "And I'm not coming home if we don't."