West is not enough for W. Hoops

Mandy West scored 20 points, but was the only Penn player in double digits in a seven-point loss. Even though the Penn women's basketball team had to settle for a loss Saturday at the Palestra, the Quakers can still feel somewhat gratified after performing many charitable deeds. Penn sent the Explorers to the foul line 15 times in the final eight minutes of the game, allowing La Salle (4-2) to put 21 points on the board en route to a 67-60 victory. "I thought the officiating needed some work," Penn sophomore forward Diana Caramanico said. "If we breathed on them, it was a foul." Judging by the statistics, the Quakers' respiratory systems were in peak condition. Penn (1-5) had 28 total team fouls to La Salle's 19, and sophomore guards Erin Ladley and Elisabeth Alexander each fouled out in the game's final minutes. According to La Salle coach John Miller, the officiating was particularly important due to both teams' lack of depth. "Neither one of us has a particularly deep team," Miller said. "Since we don't substitute a whole lot, fouls are going to be a factor." Penn coach Julie Soriero certainly agreed -- so much so that she received a technical foul for arguing a call with 1:14 remaining. "I saw an inconsistency and I wanted to work to get a call," Soriero said. "I think the issue was that I stepped out of the [coach's] box." But the Quakers' problems began way before then. "I think fouling had a lot to do with it in the end," junior co-captain Mandy West said, "But I think more than that, though, was that we had these major lapses in the first half. We can't go on these huge runs of not scoring." In the final six minutes of the first half, the Quakers saw their six-point lead turn into an 11-point deficit. After an Alexander foul shot extended Penn's lead to 18-13 with 6:20 left in the half, the Quakers went scoreless until Caramanico went to the line with 52 seconds remaining. The power forward's free throw sent the Quakers into the locker room down 30-19, as the Explorers seemed to have an answer for all of Penn's usual threats. "Obviously we looked at their statistics and we knew that Caramanico and West were the two players we really had to key in on defensively," Miller said. The Explorers held Caramanico to eight points -- 10 below her average -- on a 2-for-10 shooting performance. "I felt like there were six people on me all night, and it got in my head a little bit," Caramanico said. "They were playing really good defense, and I missed a lot of shots I usually make." West shared her teammate's scoring frustrations. "I need to learn to deal with the pressure better. I wasn't making my shots and I also wasn't pleased with my shot selection," West said. "A lot of my shots weren't appropriate shots to be taking." West attempted a game-high 31 shots -- third all-time by a Quaker and the most since February 13, 1978 -- connecting on eight of them for 20 points. The Explorers were especially effective in neutralizing the guard behind the arc, where she was just 2-for-12. The La Salle defenders did not just limit the two players individually; they disrupted the connection between them as well. According to West, the Explorers' aggressive defense made passing into the post extremely difficult. "Half the time when they were doubling me the post was wide open, and I didn't get them the ball," West said. "It was my fault -- it was tough for me to make the pass. We should have gotten them more involved." After their rough first-half finish, the Quakers looked a little better coming out of the locker room. Following a free throw by Ladley and a jumper by sophomore center Jessica Allen, West's driving lay-up at 14:37 cut the lead to 10. La Salle's margin had been as large as 16 with 18 minutes remaining. By the time Alexander received her fifth foul with 2:49 left, Penn was amidst a full-fledged comeback. Penn's 16-10 run, over a six-minute span, shrunk the Explorers' lead to three points, 54-51. "We certainly let Penn come back in the basketball game," Miller said of the Quakers' run. "We started missing our shots and turning the ball over, and they took advantage of that. They came down and scored on the other end." But just when Penn appeared to be within striking distance, the Quakers were hit with two crucial foul calls. In a span of 1:25, Penn lost two of its floor leaders -- Alexander and Ladley -- and its grasp on the victory. Despite five points from West and a basket by senior co-captain Sue Van Stone in the final minutes, Penn could not catch the Explorers. La Salle went to the line repeatedly, hitting free throw after free throw to drive the final nails into the Quakers' coffin.