After its historic victory last night against Saint Joseph's, the Penn women's basketball team will face an even bigger challenge against another city rival.
On Sunday, No. 24 Villanova will take the short drive to the Palestra and take on the newly energized Quakers.
Penn saw a new star rise on Wednesday night, as forward/center Jennifer Fleischer recorded a career-high 21 points and a season-high 16 rebounds.
The Red and Blue will need more players to step up other than Fleischer if they want to beat the Wildcats.
"We have to play a more complete game if we want to win on Sunday," Penn guard Amanda Kammes said. "Villanova and Temple are much better teams than St. Joe's."
St. Joseph's was a very good team, and, notably, Penn had never beaten the Hawks in 29 years of its series. But St. Joe's was a team that had lost its top four scorers and was vulnerable.
Villanova is not. The Wildcats are nationally ranked and have a victory against a top 25 team, No. 23 Penn State, already to their credit.
Two years ago, 'Nova pulled off the upset of the women's college basketball season when it beat then-No. 1 ranked and undefeated UConn and won the Big East. The win snapped the Huskies' record-breaking 70-game win streak.
But this is not the same Villanova team that beat the mighty Huskies. This is a young and often streaky team, as shown by its recent loss to George Washington.
The team's leading scorer is a redshirt freshman, Jackie Adamshick, a 6-foot forward who is averaging 16 points a game -- an astounding mark in the women's game.
"Villanova is a unique team year in and year out," Kammes said. "They have five people on the team who can shoot, dribble and pass like a point guard."
But the Wildcats usually don't look much like point guards. Villanova's second-leading scorer is Preseason All-Big East first team selection Liad Suez. The 6-2 Suez is a massive forward who can shoot and pass like a guard.
"They always give us some new challenges, especially cause they're so versatile at the four and five positions, which has been a problem for us," Kammes said.
A historical problem for the Quakers, but as Fleischer's play on Wednesday showed, if Penn stays aggressive and plays its game, it can go out and beat anyone.
"It was a good morale booster," Kammes said about Wednesday night's victory. "We knew we could do it and we went in and took care of business.
"It was our goal to go in there and make history on Wednesday, and it's our goal to beat 'Nova on Sunday."
If the Quakers do beat the 'Cats, they'll make even more history. The Penn women have never won a Big 5 title, but now, at 2-0, the Red and Blue sit in the driver's seat to win the city league.
"The Big 5 games are huge, very important for us," Penn senior Karen Habrukowich said.
But the remaining road to the Big 5 title is far from easy. Temple and Villanova are both top-level teams intent on keeping their stranglehold on Philadelphia.
Already, the Quakers' two Big 5 victories top the success of every Penn team that has come before them. On top of that, the Red and Blue's record against top national teams this season is a decisive 0-2. Penn lost its only game to a top 25 opponent, No. 23 Maryland, by 20 points and lost to national contender Colorado by 20.
But as Wednesday proved, anything is possible. And if the Quakers can step it up and beat Villanova on Sunday, they will show that history is no obstacle.
