W. Hoops two-star attack takes on N.Y.

Caramanico and West lead the Quakers against a more balanced Cornell. After finishing its out of conference schedule with consecutive wins, the Penn women's basketball team resumes its Ivy League schedule this weekend against the league's New York state residents. Tonight, at 7 p.m in the Palestra, the Quakers host Cornell and tomorrow they take on Columbia at the same time and place. Penn is playing its best basketball of the season entering this weekend's action. The Quakers have benefited especially from continual dominance from their top two scoring threats, Mandy West and Diana Caramanico. "There have been different elements added to key players' games that have been beneficial," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "Early in the season, Mandy was pressing to score from three-point range. Now she's finding different ways to score. For example, she's much better on a pull-up jumper." "Diana has been better at playing in the high post area, not just the low post area." The further advancement of Caramanico and West has put them atop the Ivy League in points per game with 20.0 and 18.8 respectively. Penn (5-10, 1-2 Ivy League) has shown confidence in its victories over Bucknell and Army, exemplified by the way the Quakers were able to respond to comebacks from the opposition. "In Bucknell's case, they made a run and went ahead in the second half," Soriero said. "In Army's case, they made a run and tied it in the second half. In both games we didn't fold when the other team gained momentum. We stayed focused on our game plan, and we did what we needed to do to beat them." Late game execution in tight games has been an issue for Penn all year, as six of its 10 losses have been by fewer than 10 points. The front end of the weekend is a contrast in offenses. Cornell will fight Penn's two scoring leaders with a well-balanced offensive attack. Cornell (8-8, 2-2) has four players who average over 10 points a game. However, only three will be playing tonight because the Big Red lost their starting center, Jumana Salti, to a season ending injury in the sixth game of the season. At the time, she was averaging 15.3 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game. Notwithstanding, senior forward Kristine Riccio and freshmen guards Breean Walas and Deborah Stevens are averaging over 10 points per game. "When they get a rhythm and a flow, they can get open shooters with the way they run their offense," Soriero said. "They've got key kids who can come up with big shots coming off different screens. One of the things we need to do is disrupt their flow." "We have to be able to stop guard penetration and make it harder for them to pass into the post," Penn sophomore guard Liz Alexander added. Twenty-four hours after tipping off against Cornell, Penn will tackle Columbia (3-11, 0-4). If the Lions lose tonight at Princeton, they will be entering West Philadelphia with a 19-game Ivy League losing streak. However, Columbia is not completely lacking in the talent category. Sophomore forward Shawnee Pickney has defied any possibilities of a sophomore slump. Recording nearly a double-double per game, she is averaging 9.5 points per game and 9.4 boards per game. "She can score from the high post and the low post," Soriero said. "I really respect the way she plays the game. A lot of kids want to be scoring threats, but they don't want to do the hard work. She's willing to step in and do the hard work." The Quakers are hoping they can thwart Pickney's efforts after disrupting Cornell's offensive attack, in a weekend that could potentially extend Penn's winning streak to four games.