W. Hoops shows versatility

In order for some teams to win, offense is the key. For others, defense is the key. But, for the Penn women's basketball team, no magic formula applies, as the Quakers have time and again proven themselves to be the most talented and versatile club in the Ivy League. They can win any game of any nature. Penn's games this weekend were no exception. The Red and Blue built an 18-point first half lead against Cornell on Friday in the Palestra, and then fought to preserve a 59-54 victory. The next night, Penn ended the first half with its first halftime tie of the year before pulling away for a relatively easy, 11-point win over Columbia. "I think we're trying to find the most ways to win a game in the country," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said following her team's victory over the Big Red. It hasn't always been pretty, as portions of each game over the weekend demonstrated. There were offensive lulls, defensive breakdowns and periods of sloppiness on both sides. But don't think that the Quakers have won a program-record 16 consecutive games and begun their conference season 9-0, by sheer coincidence alone. Penn has been able to prevail in shootouts, in tough, physical matchups and in closely contested defensive struggles. Throughout this eight-week run of perfection that has placed Penn in position to clinch their first-ever conference title as early as this weekend, the Quakers have been able to mold their game each day to play just the way they need to. To begin the 2001 calendar year, Penn lit up the scoreboard in games at Lehigh and Siena, scoring 88 points in each. In the Quakers' final four games of that road trip, they won by playing a more defense-oriented style, as they scored between 61 and 69 points in each contest, while surrendering an average of just 55. When the Red and Blue then returned home to face Drexel on January 23, they resumed their run-and-gun style to defeat the Dragons, 91-80, and then topped Yale, 92-80, in a crucial overtime game in New Haven. In addition, Penn has elevated its play when the situation has most called for it, as if cued by a rampaging opponent to begin performing on a higher level that so far only Penn has shown to be capable of reaching in the Ancient Eight this year. "I think it's our senior leadership," said Greenberg of co-captains Diana Caramanico and Erin Ladley, referring specifically to the duo's performance in the second half in Saturday's contest against Columbia. "The two seniors out there just kind of said, 'All right, now that's enough.'" With the help of these two seniors, Penn has authored its share of comebacks and countless success stories in assembling a winning streak that will now span at least 57 days heading into Friday's battle at Dartmouth. But the Quakers know that they will still have more challenges to overcome, as each opponent recognizes the Red and Blue as the predominant squad in the conference. "We're the team to beat," Penn point guard Tara Twomey said. "Everyone's going to come out to beat us."

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