W. Hoops opens against Temple

With a new coach and a new outlook, Penn is ready to make a big 5 run. Even though the Penn women's basketball team returns its top six scorers from last season, odds are the Temple Owls won't recognize much about their opening day opponents when they visit the Palestra tomorrow at 5 p.m. A brand-new coaching staff, led by Kelly Greenberg, will pace the sidelines for the Quakers (12-14, 0-4 Big 5 in 1998-99). The Red and Blue welcome six freshmen to the fold. And Penn will play a faster pace than it has in the past. "We have a bunch of new, talented freshmen, new coach, new program, new outlook for out team," Penn guard and tri-captain Erin Ladley said. "We're ready to get on the court." While the Quakers are excited to get underway, they must be careful not to let the excitement get the best of them. "We should be excited," Greenberg said. "[But] we need to channel our energy and put that towards positive things and not come out and play like chickens without our heads on." Keeping emotions in check might be difficult for Penn given that the Owls are a Big 5 opponent. Penn has not beaten a Big 5 team since January 17, 1995, when the Quakers downed Temple, 65-29. Last year's loss to the Owls (8-19, 1-3 last season) was particularly painful. Penn had an 18-point lead with eight minutes to play but Temple's press was particularly effective from that point on, and the Owls emerged with a 81-75 victory. "We're not dwelling on the past this year," Penn junior forward and tri-captain Diana Caramanico said. "But thinking about last year's game helps to ignite a spark and hopefully we get some revenge. This is an opportunity for us to get our first Big 5 win in years. Getting a win would be very big." Greenberg's goal for the Quakers is not just to win tomorrow's game but to also win another Big 5 game during the season. Penn has not won two Big 5 games in the same season since 1974-75. Penn's new coach, however, is used to success in Philadelphia. In her years as a player for La Salle, Greenberg was on three Big 5 championship teams. She will now try to bring the same success to the city's perennial cellar dweller. "At Penn, we really have been the doormat," Greenberg said. "For many years, we've had a couple of wins here and there, but we don't want to be the doormat anymore. It is our goal to win two Big 5 games this year, and we plan on doing it." The Quakers were close to doing that last year, even though they lost all four contests in the loop. Their average margin of Big 5 defeat was 10.5 points, but the games -- especially against the Owls and La Salle -- were much closer than the scoreboard showed. Still, that doesn't mean that Penn is getting respect from the rest of the city's teams. "We're treated as an underdog," Penn senior guard and tri-captain Mandy West said. "At the same time, I think people realize we're an improving team. Last year, we didn't win but we were in every single one of those games. Although most teams will consider us to be underdogs, I think everyone on this team feels confident that we can win every single one of those games." Because they will be the first team to face Penn's new run-and-gun style under the new coaching staff, the Owls will not have any sort of reliable scouting report on the Quakers, making Temple's task even tougher. "You can't [scout]," Temple coach Kristen Foley said. "It's the same personnel but a new coach brings philosophy and style. You can't worry about that too much, so you get your own team and play your game. Obviously you have to contain Diana and Mandy and not let anyone else go off and get career highs on you." That strategy plays right into Penn's hands. "What they really don't realize is that we're not going to be a two-person team anymore," Greenberg said. "I've said from day one that Mandy and Diana are not our only options anymore. We have people who can play basketball. "Are Diana and Mandy going to be our leading scorers? Most likely, but it doesn't mean they have to be our only scorers."