Elis, Bears set to host W.Hoops<br>

The Penn women's basketball team will begin what coach Kelly Greenberg terms the third stage of its season later tonight. The Quakers' first stage of the year, the Big 5 schedule, spelled trouble for the Red and Blue, as they lost all but one -- a matchup with La Salle -- in City Series action. In phase two, facing non-league opponents, Penn (10-5, 2-0 Ivy League) drastically turned its season around by winning nine consecutive games, a streak it will bring to Yale (5-12, 0-4) this evening for a 7 p.m. tipoff with the Elis in New Haven, Conn. The Quakers will then travel to Providence, R.I., the next night to take on Brown. Penn is coming off of a 10-day layoff, which was helpful in healing some of the Quakers' lingering injuries. Sophomore guard Jennifer Jones and freshman guard Jewel Clark, the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week, have both used the time off to nurse their wounds and fully expect to contribute this weekend. Meanwhile, senior center Jessica Allen is still suffering from a herniated disk in her back, but she anticipates getting at least some playing time against Yale tonight and at Brown tomorrow. "It was a good time to rest and it got us more excited for the games," Allen said of the break. The last time the Quakers enjoyed a double-digit day break was the 16-day period between the "first" and "second" stages of the season. In the first game back from that long rest period, the Quakers began their current winning streak with a win over Stony Brook on December 28. Now, the stakes are higher, and though wins against the likes of Air Force and Albany still count, things are different at this "third" part of the year. There is a noticeably distinct atmosphere surrounding the team right now, one of heightened anxiety and enthusiasm that only appears when the Ivy League schedule gets underway. "Everyone knows that every Ivy League game could be a championship game," Allen said. The schedule-makers this year decided to sprinkle a couple of Ivy League games into the traditionally non-conference portion of Penn's season, and Penn defeated both Columbia and Cornell on the road three weekends ago. Beginning tonight, however, there are 12 games remaining in the Quakers' 2000-2001 campaign, and all of them are against Ancient Eight opponents. While the Quakers must abide by the notion that records can often be thrown out the window when Ivy teams get together, they must at the same time realize that tonight's game is one that gives Penn the clear advantage on paper. "I think we're confident in what we've gone over," Penn senior co-captain Diana Caramanico said of her team's scouting and preparation for this weekend. "We've done [Yale] as comprehensively as we have any other team." Also favorable to the Red and Blue is Yale's largely guard-oriented rotation. The Elis will likely start only one player over 6'0" tonight. This season, Penn has been hurt in the paint by players with a big physical presence, such as Villanova's Brandi Barnes and Lafayette's Jennifer Bayer. But Yale's tallest player, 6'1" forward/center Helene Schutrumpf, has averaged just 6.8 points per game this year. The Elis as a team have only managed 58.7 points per contest, a crucial reason for their less-than-stellar record. The task tomorrow night promises to be more challenging. While Yale currently sits in last place in the Ivy standings, the Bears occupy the top spot with a 4-0 league mark. Regardless, Penn has developed a sort of road warrior mentality, having won their last six games away from the Palestra. "This is the most comfortable I've felt playing on the road," Caramanico said. "It's nothing new. We've only had one home game in our past eight."

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