W. Hoops splits tough weekend

The Quakers are tied with Harvard and Dartmouth atop the Ivy standings. The Penn women's basketball team traveled north this past weekend in a two-way tie for first place and came back to Philadelphia in a three-way logjam. The Quakers (15-6, 6-1 Ivy League) asserted themselves in a showdown of Ivy League unbeatens Friday night, as they knocked off Harvard (13-6, 6-1) 78-76. But Penn then created a deadlock at the top of the Ancient Eight by following up its emotionally-charged victory with a lackluster 18-point defeat at Dartmouth on Saturday. "Friday night's game was such a great basketball game," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. "Almost every college coach in the Boston area was there, because it was a night off for them, and they all said that it was the best game they'd seen in a long time." The outcome of the see-saw battle at Lavietes Pavilion was not determined until the final seconds, although the Quakers were able to build a 16-point lead on the strength of a 21-7 run in the first seven minutes of the second half. "When we made that run in the second half, Diana [Caramanico] was running; Julie [Epton] was running; it was great," Greenberg said. Junior forward and Quakers co-captain Caramanico led her team with 33 points and 11 rebounds on Friday night. "That was awesome to beat them at home," Caramanico said. "We've had some good wins like that before, [but] we've never been in a position where we're trying to stay undefeated past two games into the Ivy League season." Caramanico didn't necessarily steal the show on Friday night, as all three of the Quakers captains had solid nights. Both senior guard Mandy West and junior guard Erin Ladley scored in double figures, pouring in 23 and 13 points, respectively. "It was a game of runs," Greenberg said. The runs got started early. Each team traded spurts throughout the first half. The Crimson jumped on top early, taking a 10-2 lead soon after the opening tip. The Quakers answered with a 14-4 run of their own, and by the 1:22 mark, had established a 36-31 lead. West's driving layup with one second left put the Quakers up 38-37 heading to the locker room. After the Quakers established a 59-43 lead with seven minutes gone in the second half, the Crimson spent the rest of the time clawing their way back. With 1:43 left, Harvard took a 74-73 lead, its first of the half. On what was only her second bucket of the half, West hit a long three-pointer to put the Quakers on top by two -- and for good -- 76-74, with just over a minute left. Then, after West hit a free throw to make the score 78-76, Harvard got the ball and 18 seconds to try and tie or take the lead. Harvard moved the ball around on the perimeter until Crimson sophomore Jennifer Monti, with a hand in her face, watched her would-be winning three-pointer bounce off the rim and fall harmlessly to the floor. West and Monti, who each played the full 40 minutes, shared some heated exchanges. "It was the heat of the moment," Caramanico said. "They're both really competitive -- just very competitive." "[Monti] is one of those cocky players that you just really want to beat," Greenberg added. Greenberg had the same feelings on Saturday night toward Dartmouth guard Courtney Banghart, who led the Big Green with 24 points. "Dartmouth's point guard was out of control, slapping the refs on the butt and pointing to the crowd when she did something good," Greenberg said. "I can't wait to get them back." Greenberg wants another shot at Dartmouth for good reason. Saturday's game was ugly. "We played awful," Greenberg said. "It was one of those games where we just wanted to get the heck out of Hanover." The Quakers had four of their 26 turnovers in the first two minutes of the game and were never able to find any sort of rhythm on offense. Penn held its last lead at the 15-minute mark in the first half. The Quakers then trailed the rest of the way, and Dartmouth led by 12 at halftime. The Big Green opened the second session with a run reminiscent of the one the Quakers had the night before. They scored 28 points to the Quakers' nine in the first eight minutes of the second half, staking themselves to an insurmountable 31-point lead. Perhaps the crowd had something to do with that, as Dartmouth put 2,100 raucous fans in Leede Arena on Saturday night. "Their crowd was great," Greenberg said. "It was obnoxiously loud." "Everyone was on their feet, screaming and cheering," Caramanico said. "That's not the main reason we lost, but it definitely doesn't help to have 1,000 people screaming in your face when you turn the ball over." Perhaps the Quakers' collapse was due to their emotionally draining game on Friday night. "It could've been," Caramanico said. "But you've got to be ready for that in the Ivy League. It's not really an excuse [to say] that we were drained, because every team in the league has to play back-to-back." However, the Quakers did manage to escape the dangerous road trip still tied for first in the league. Virtually no other Ivy League team has ever been able to beat Dartmouth and Harvard on back-to-back road nights. "[They've] only been swept something like three times, ever," Greenberg said. "So, I'm pretty happy with our effort. I didn't come home feeling let down or anything."