W. hoops faces a busy break

After losing all four games against its Big 5 opponents, the Penn women's basketball team (1-6) now has two weeks to regroup until its winter tour of the east coast, which begins December 28 at Stetson (1-6) in DeLand, Fla. Penn then faces Stetson's Trans Atlantic Athletic Conference (TAAC) rival, Central Florida (3-3) in Orlando, Fla., on December 30. The Quakers head north to start their Ivy League season January 4 at the Palestra against Princeton (2-6). They then trek to New England to face Yale (4-4) on January 8 and Brown (4-3) on January 9. These Ivy League records should be taken with a grain of salt, however, as nonconference opponents played by Ivy schools vary greatly from team to team. So far this season, Penn has had trouble maintaining a consistent offense. But the Quakers know what a balanced attack can do. Diana Caramanico scored 27 and Mandy West added 26 in Penn's lone win, a 70-64 overtime victory at St. Francis (N.Y.). Since their triumph in Brooklyn, however, the Quakers' offensive struggles have turned into three straight losses. Penn has generally been able to count on scoring from either the frontcourt or the backcourt, but rarely both at the same time. "At this point in the season, it doesn't concern me that much," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "[Mandy and Diana] have a lot of big games left in them. It shows that you can stop one, but not the other." To be successful, Penn will need either consistent performances from West and Caramanico or a more balanced offense. "Our offense is going to depend a lot on Mandy and Diana," Soriero said. "But Erin Ladley has stepped up her scoring and so has Jessica Allen. I'd also like to see our scoring step up from the free throw line." One team which has not struggled at the charity stripe is Stetson, Penn's first winter break opponent. Cher Dyson, the Hatters' sophomore guard, boasts an 87.5 percent mark from the foul line to go with her 16.4 points per game average. After Stetson, considered to be the easiest game of the break, the Quakers head to Central Florida. Senior guard Chariya Davis, the TAAC's leading scorer, paces the Knights in every major statistical category with averages of 20.0 points, 5.0 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game. Though Soriero compares the TAAC to the America East, Drexel's conference, the Quakers know little about their Sunshine State opponents. They are, however, very familiar with the Ivy League teams that they will face to start 1999. "Closer to the games, we'll do scouting reports, focus on specific players," West said. "With the Ivy League, everyone has a much better feel of how the teams are." The Red and Blue's first Ivy opponent, Princeton, is the league's preseason favorite. Guard Maggie Langlas leads the team with an 11.3 scoring average, and forward Kate Thirolf is coming on strong. Thirolf turned in a 16-point, eight-rebound performance in the Tigers' last win, December 2 at Lafayette. The squad from Old Nassau followed the win with road losses to Rider and Siena. After its battle with Princeton, Penn heads to New Haven to face a Yale team that has dropped four straight since a 4-0 start. Forward Autumn Braddock, who leads the team at 10.4 ppg, is the Elis' player to watch. Guard Alyson Miller provides plenty of spark off the bench, pumping in 10 points per game. The Quakers close out their winter break with Brown, the only Ivy team with a winning record. "I think Brown has a pretty good team," Soriero said. "But if you compare our schedule to the rest of the Ivy League, it's very challenging. We need to concentrate more on what we've learned from challenging opponents than on what Brown has done against some of its opponents." Nonetheless, the Bears have been impressive in the early going. Senior guard Vita Redding was named Ivy League Player of the Week after scoring 28 points in Brown's near-upset of Seton Hall.