W. Hoops stumbles out West

Diana Caramanico had 22 points for the Quakers, but Penn fell in disappointing style to Wyoming. After dropping its second game of the season, all the Penn women's basketball team wanted to do was "get out of Dodge." Or at least Laramie, Wyoming. The Quakers fell to 1-2 overall when they lost 88-70 to Wyoming (3-3) at Arena Auditorium last night. "I'm not pleased with our effort. We were not mentally or physically tough," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. "This loss is really going to leave a pit in our stomach. [Wyoming] is not that much better than us." On this night, though, especially in the second half, the Cowgirls were the better team, as they turned their five-point halftime lead into an 18-point blowout. "I was pleased with [our team] at the half," Greenberg said. "The only thing I wasn't happy about at halftime was the rebounding." The rebounding did not get much better in the second half. On the night, the Cowgirls grabbed 59 boards to the Quakers' 24. "They were ready to be more physical than we were," Greenberg said. "And when they got more physical, we backed down in the second half." Physical play was indeed the determining factor, especially on the offensive glass. Even though the Quakers outshot the Cowgirls by a slim margin, 46 percent to 43 percent, Wyoming hauled in 29 caroms off the offensive boards to Penn's 14. The Cowgirls were led on the frontline by sophomores Carrie Bacon and Jessica Gibbs. Both posted double-doubles, as Bacon scored 30 and Gibbs added 26. Each pulled down 12 rebounds. Although Penn junior tri-captain Diana Caramanico led the Quakers with nine rebounds and a team-high 22 points before fouling out late in the second half, Greenberg was satisfied with the play of only one of her players -- senior guard Mandy West. "She played a very good game for us. After Mandy, we just really didn't have any solid efforts," Greenberg said. "She made tough decisions, she's sacrificing a lot of her game for the good of the team." West scored 17 points and nabbed four steals while playing the full 40 minutes. But the tri-captain was less concerned with her own success than with the Quakers' performance. "I think most of us are disappointed," she said. "I don't want to say we should've won, because that excuse is getting pretty old, but it was a game we were capable of winning. "I don't think they're 18 points better than us, I don't even think they're one point better than us, but they were tougher, in their attitudes, the way they play." While the Cowgirls were able to stick to their game plan for the duration, the Quakers lost sight of their offensive strategy. "When we tried to play tough defense, they weren't scared," West said. "They just did what they wanted to do. Then, when they played tough, in-your-face 'D,' we backed down and didn't play our game." The Quakers all knew that they let things get out of hand. "We can't fold when things aren't going our way, we've got to get tough," Greenberg said. "I'm not used to losing. We've got to figure out as a [coaching] staff how to get it across that losing is not acceptable." For Penn's first-year coach, victory is not simply in the participation. "These girls seem to think that if you give what you think is your best for 40 minutes and you lose, then it's fine, [but] it's not fine," Greenberg said. "If you play tough for 40 minutes, play hard for 40 minutes and play smart for 40 minutes and you still lose, then yeah, that's another matter." The loss, while extremely disappointing for the Quakers, will not be the end of the world for them. "Am I throwing in the towel here? Definitely not," Greenberg said. "It's just that we need to keep getting better, and we can't settle." Shortly after the game, the Quakers continued their western odyssey with a four-hour bus ride to Colorado Springs, Colo., where they will play in the Air Force Classic this weekend. The Quakers and their coach seemed anxious to get their poor showing into the rear-view mirror. "It's kind of nice that our [next] game is in one day, so that the loss doesn't linger too long," West said. "Last night's game is over, and we can't dwell on it, we should learn from it, and we can hurt from it, but we're not going to dwell on it," Greenberg said. Despite her lip service to the contrary, it appears Greenberg is going to carry this game with her for a while. "If we get two wins this weekend, maybe I'll forget about the loss tonight," she said.