Ivy League perfection

The odds were certainly in the Penn women's basketball team's favor last night. It was Senior Night at the Palestra for the Quakers (14-0, 22-5 Ivy League). Penn was playing for a perfect Ancient Eight record and looking to extend its 20-game winning streak in its regular season finale. Princeton, with only two wins on the season, was not supposed to be the team to put an end to the Quakers' tear. But, for a while, it seemed as if the Tigers (2-25, 2-12) might pull off the improbable and come away with a monster upset over the Red and Blue. The team from Old Nassau had a sizable lead for much of the game, and with 14:56 left to play, the Quakers were down by seven to their biggest rival, 51-44. But, for the Quakers, losing was never a feasible option. "I wasn't scared about losing the game," senior forward Diana Caramanico said. Accordingly, Penn showed the resiliency that has been the cornerstone of its success all year and came back to defeat the Tigers, 78-69. With this come-from-behind victory, the Quakers became only the second team to emerge unscathed from the 14-game Ivy League schedule since it was adopted in 1986-87. Harvard completed the clean sweep four years ago. The sound of the buzzer left the Quakers with more to celebrate than just another win, however. After the game, the Red and Blue were presented with the Ivy League championship trophy. Amidst a forceful chanting of "Ivy Champs!" from the dedicated fans who stuck around to witness the jubilation, the Quakers celebrated and completed the fun-filled night by collectively cutting down the nets of the Palestra. Princeton made the Red and Blue earn the right to revel in their program-record 22nd win, though. The Tigers gave the Quakers fits from beyond the arc all night, especially in the first half. Princeton guard Allison Cahill's three-pointer at the 13:24 mark in the first half gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead. After forward Maureen Lane connected from long distance with 9:01 left in the first half, the Tigers achieved their biggest lead of the game, 24-14. Penn chipped away at this deficit, but thanks in large part to its 5-10 shooting from three-point range, Princeton went into halftime with a 37-30 margin. The Quakers realized the need to make a defensive adjustment. "They were on fire," coach Kelly Greenberg said. "We went with our bigger lineup [in the second half] and it made a big difference defensively." Greenberg utilized the height of Jennifer Jones and Jewel Clark and sat Tara Twomey in the second half to help defend against the three-point shooting prowess of the Tigers. This defensive switch proved effective, as Princeton converted only 6-of-19 attempts from beyond the arc in the second half. Just as important as the Tigers cooling off from long range in the second half, however, was Penn's increased offensive production. The Quakers hit 18-of-30 shots from the field and sunk 11-of-13 free throws in the second half. No two players were as integral to the Quakers' turnaround as seniors Caramanico and Erin Ladley. Caramanico scored 10 of her 26 points in the second half, while Ladley reeled off 17 of her 21 to propel Penn to victory. In a night where smiles were mixed with tears for the two seniors in their last game at the Palestra, it was fitting for Caramanico and Ladley to ignite the Quakers on their way to victory.

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