Penn women's basketball coach Patrick Knapp sat before a larger-than-usual assembly of reporters yesterday afternoon, looking rather more subdued than he normally is courtside.
"We've had a rough two weeks," he said.
Indeed they have. So far this season, Penn has played three teams that have been nationally ranked at some point this season -- Maryland, Villanova and, most recently, Ohio State.
The Quakers have also played a grueling Big 5 schedule, beating La Salle and Saint Joseph's before falling hard to the Wildcats and Temple.
Penn's record may now stand at 3-6, but this is nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, these games have proven that the Quakers are just as good as last year's Ivy League champions were -- if not better.
The main reason why I feel confident enough to say that is junior center Jennifer Fleischer. She has averaged 8.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game but, perhaps more importantly, has commanded space in the paint.
With 78 rebounds so far this year, Fleischer may not reach Diana Caramanico's single-season record of 333, but she has certainly established herself as an early candidate for Ivy League Player of the Year as conference play looms in just over a month.
Penn's three-point shooting may not be as good as it could be. That is likely due, however, to the fact that opposing teams know that they must play tough perimeter defense -- especially against seniors Karen Habrukowich and Cat Makarewich -- to keep the Quakers from lighting it up from outside the arc.
Knapp himself has also been a major factor. Although he admitted yesterday that he is "still learning this team," he has the team playing a fast-paced offense and tenacious defense. The players like him, and have taken his emotional coaching style onto the floor with them.
"I didn't pretend to think I would know this team until January 1," Knapp said. "That's just the way it is. You can watch all the tape you want, but when you look the players in the eyes, when they're playing Maryland and Ohio State, [you] see what's in their heart."
That heart was exemplified by senior guard Amanda Kammes last Wednesday at Temple. Stuck on the bench after spraining an ankle in the first half, she seemed to grimace as much because of the physical pain as because of the fact that she couldn't be out on the floor running the offense.
Kammes' deputy, Joey Rhoads, has been doing a great job as well. She played a major role in Penn's second half rally, bringing the smaller-than-expected Palestra crowd to its feet when she cut Ohio State's lead to 59-51 with 4:03 to go in the game.
The Buckeyes certainly did not play as well as their No. 10 ranking suggests they should have. Nonetheless, Ohio St. coach Jim Foster -- no stranger to the Palestra, having graduated from Temple and coached at Saint Joseph's -- gave the Quakers credit for holding their own.
"I think that they have a very solid opportunity to win in the Ivy League," he said. "Any time Penn can come away with some Big 5 wins, it should put the Ivy League on notice that this is a good Penn team."
If nothing else, it should certainly make people here pay attention.
Jonathan Tannenwald is a junior Urban Studies major from Washington, D.C. His e-mail address is jtannenw@sas.upenn.edu.
