Guards must fill West's shoes

The Penn women's basketball team may have only lost one player to graduation last spring, but filling the sizable void left by Mandy West presents quite a challenge to this year's squad. West -- the Quakers' point guard --along with now-senior forward Diana Caramanico, formed a tag-team duo that intimidated Penn's opponents. The two captains combined to score 59 percent of Penn's points. Caramanico led the Red and Blue by scoring 24.8 points per game, and West ended the season averaging an even 20. Well, Caramanico is still in town and is looking to improve on what has already been a historic career at Penn. But the Quakers must now cope with the loss of West. And they don't hesitate to say that while that prospect might seem daunting, they don't expect any drop-off from last season, in which Penn tied for second place in the Ivies with a 9-5 league record. The Ivy media clearly agreed. They chose the Quakers as the favorites to capture their first-ever Ivy League title in 2000-2001. None of the personnel changes or pre-season predictions, though, will change coach Kelly Greenberg's goal for this winter. "We all want to win the Ivy League," she said. "Anything short of that would be disappointing." Greenberg added that she did not even address the media's declaration to her team, although she knows they are aware of it. "It doesn't change my expectations," Penn's second-year coach said. The loss of West this season will force the Quakers to find someone to fill her role offensively more than anything else. Last year's tri-captain was by far the team's most lethal threat from beyond the three-point arc. "We're not going to have that long-range bomber now," Greenberg said of her current squad. The Red and Blue expect a smooth transition, however, as they will introduce sophomore Tara Twomey to the starting lineup. Last season, West would begin the game at point guard, then shift over to shooting guard when Twomey would come in off the bench to inherit the point. This year, although Greenberg has not officially committed to an opening day lineup as of yet, Twomey will most likely be starting for Penn. "She's playing very well," Greenberg said. "What we need from Tara is a presence." And the Camp Hill, Pa., native is eager to deliver, hoping to build on a solid first year. As a freshman, Twomey scored just 2.6 points per game, but distributed 88 assists, coming off the bench in all of Penn's 28 games. Her impressive assists numbers were good enough to be the third-highest total on the team. "I think my game fits in well with the way the team plays, because I like to push the ball," Twomey said. "Offensively, we're still a running team." Though the main responsibility of a point guard may be to set up the offense and find the open person with precision passing, Greenberg is equally excited about Twomey's abilities on the other side of the ball. "Defensively, she sets the pace for us," the coach said. "She's our Energizer Bunny." Twomey acknowledges that Greenberg seems to be placing a greater emphasis on defense thus far. Joining Twomey in the Quakers' three-guard alignment will be sophomore Jen Jones and senior co-captain Erin Ladley, both of whom played and started in all 28 games in '99-'00. Jones averaged 5.9 points per game in her freshman season, and Greenberg looks for her to use the experience she has already gained to her advantage. "Jen started all last year as a freshman, so this should be a big sophomore campaign," Greenberg said. Ladley, meanwhile, has been a contributor to the team for three years now. Last season, the Pittsfield, Mass., native scored 9.1 points per game and was Penn's second-leading assist collector, only behind West. "She consistently leads by example in every practice," Greenberg said. Ladley has drawn praise from her coaches and teammates alike not just for her intangible qualities, but also for her solid play on the court. "She brings a lot of leadership to the team," Twomey said. "She's a good shooter and she's playing really good defense, too." The Quakers' optimistic outlook for this season is also due in part to the addition of a few new faces. Freshmen Mikaelyn Austin and Jewel Clark will provide a fresh look to Penn's backcourt when the starting three need a breather. Seniors Claire Cavanaugh and Liz Alexander and sophomores Ima Abia and Sunny Pitrof will also provide bench strength in the backcourt. The road laid out before the Quakers is one that might lead them to a conference championship. And for them to get there, they will probably need more than just the brilliant talents of Caramanico. The Red and Blue's guards may hold the key to Ivy League success.

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