W. Hoops heads for Chicago

Six weeks from today, the Penn women's basketball team will be in New York to open its Ivy League season against Columbia. Until then, the Quakers will have 10 games and a ton of practices to prepare. But some games up to that point will provide more of a challenge than others. And tonight in Evanston, Ill., Penn (0-1) will tip off against Northwestern (2-1), the only Big Ten opponent the Red and Blue will see this season. The Quakers, who left yesterday morning at 6 a.m., will be competing in the Roger L. White Invitational, which will also feature Northeastern and UNLV. The two winners of today's games are to meet for the tournament championship tomorrow, while the two losing teams will play a consolation game before the title contest. The Penn women's basketball program generally schedules one such long-distance trip per year, but last year was the first in which the Red and Blue won a championship. The Quakers won the Air Force Classic in Colorado Springs by defeating both Lafayette and Loyola of Chicago. This season, the Red and Blue again want to make their only regular season plane trip of the season seem worthwhile. "We expect to win," Penn senior co-captain Erin Ladley said. "We want to have a good showing for Penn." The Quakers are also eager for the opportunity to play a team they rarely meet. "It would be great if we could beat a Big Ten team," Penn sophomore point guard Tara Twomey said. "We don't get to face them very often." The idea of opposing faraway and talented Northwestern might be appealing, but it also entails much more planning and scouting than usual from Penn's coaching staff. The Quakers have a pretty firm grasp of what type of game they can expect from traditional Ivy League or Big 5 foes, but that's not the case for these two upcoming games right outside Chicago. The greatest challenge will be for tomorrow's contest, since Penn will have less than 24 hours notice as to who it will be playing. Nevertheless, the Quakers have faith in their mentors. "Our coaches are really prepared," Ladley said. "They do in-depth scouting reports." What the Red and Blue can expect in the Northwestern game tonight at 7 p.m. eastern time is to go up against a quick team, yet one that has struggled offensively. "[Penn] coach [Kelly Greenberg] said they run a lot more than the teams we usually face around here," Ladley said. However, the speed of the Wildcats has not produced an abundance of points so far this fall. In three games, Northwestern has failed to top the 60-point mark twice. Their most dangerous threats are three of the younger members of the team, suggesting that perhaps the 'Cats might be in a bit of a rebuilding stage. Sophomore guard Emily Butler narrowly leads her team in scoring with a 12.7 points per game average, while sophomore center Leslie Dolland is averaging 12.3. On a team that has not shot for a particularly high percentage, though, Dolland has been on target, sinking better than 61 percent of her attempts. Also in the frontcourt, Penn must be aware of freshman Michelle Zylstra, who has scored 11.3 points on average, along with 6.7 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Red and Blue will try to continue the balanced sort of attack they displayed in their opening day loss to St. Joseph's. In spite of coming up on the short end of an 81-75 score, four Quakers finished the game with double-digit point totals. "I have a lot of confidence in everyone on the team," Twomey said. "It's good to know that there are a lot of people who can contribute." And this weekend, Penn will look not only to its all-time leading scorer, Diana Caramanico, but her supporting cast as well, to be successful in Evanston.

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