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Penn's Tara Twomey looks to lead the Quakers in their quest to extend their win streak, as Cornell and Columbia visit this weekend. (Jacques-Jean Tiziou/DP File Photo)

In the process of shattering all kinds of school records in the past couple months, one might think that the Ivy League-leading Penn women's basketball team might be at least somewhat complacent, if not downright overconfident, heading into the final stretch of the season. But the Quakers (15-5, 7-0 Ivy League) are humbled by their past and keep a constant eye on the future. Last year, the Red and Blue opened Ancient Eight play with six straight wins before losing critical games at Yale and Brown late in the season -- losses that eliminated any hopes of their first-ever Ivy League championship. So, the Quakers insist that this year's 7-0 mark, while quite impressive, will not make them cocky heading into the second half of their Ivy season. "We don't get part of a banner for going 7-0 in the first half [of the season]," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. This weekend, Penn welcomes Cornell (11-10, 4-4) and Columbia (6-14, 4-4) to the Palestra. Penn is especially aware of a dangerous Big Red team, which took Penn to the wire before falling short, 69-66, in their first meeting on January 13 in Ithaca, N.Y. Penn built a 27-12 lead in the first half of that contest, but Cornell came firing back, and even held the lead with 14:29 remaining in the game, before clutch shots by Penn's Diana Caramanico and Tara Twomey iced it for the Quakers. The last-minute scare, though, was enough to remind Penn of how dangerous tonight's opponent can be. "To be honest with you, they're the most talented team in the league, and I know our team knows it," Greenberg said. "They can flat out score when they want to." The Quakers, meanwhile, will look to apply some valuable lessons they learned in that first matchup. "Cornell drove the baseline a lot on us last time," said Caramanico, who added that Penn hopes to keep the Big Red on the perimeter. "Basically, we just have to play good defense, and our offense will come from our defense." Of particular concern to Penn will be Cornell's two top scorers, junior guard Do Stevens and sophomore forward Katie Romey. Stevens leads Cornell with an 11.2 point per game average, while Romey enters play this evening averaging 11.0. But Cornell, which boasts a balanced approach similar to Penn's, just doesn't have that go-to person in a pinch like Caramanico, who scored 17 and collected 15 rebounds in last month's battle. On the other hand, Columbia does have a big scorer in senior forward Shawnee Pickney, who leads her team in four statistical categories but lacks the supporting cast. The Los Angeles native is averaging 15.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Pickney has also recorded 48 steals this year, more than double the total of any of her teammates. Since no other Lions are even in the same league as Pickney in most departments, paying special attention to her and sending double and triple teams to defend her might pose far greater problems for Columbia than the same tactics employed against Caramanico do for Penn. The Red and Blue downed the Lions in their first meeting on January 12 in New York, 61-50, and Caramanico did indeed put forth a solid performance, scoring 19 and grabbing 15 boards. Penn sophomore point guard Tara Twomey also made some important baskets in that matchup, scoring seven points down the stretch to inflate the Quakers' lead to 13 with under one minute remaining. As the games this weekend approach, however, and as a league championship looms ever-closer, Twomey says she and the team will not play with any distractions in the Quakers' final seven contests. "I think it's definitely a motivating factor," Twomey said of the opportunity to capture a title. "We understand how important each and every game is."

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