Three days ago, the Quakers took on visiting Rider and coach Patrick Knapp shuffled his players around to remix the lineup of a team spiraling downward after 10 straight losses.
"When you are 2-10 you can't blame the coaching staff for going in a different direction," Knapp said. "We played different people ... it was simply strategic and we will do that the rest of the year."
The results speak for themselves. Penn snapped its losing streak, handed the Broncs a 66-38 loss and gained new confidence that will come in handy this weekend when the team visits Cornell (3-10) today and Columbia (4-8) tomorrow.
But even with this crucial win behind them as they enter the bulk of Ivy League play, the Quakers (2-10, 0-1 Ivy) are aware of the tough road ahead.
"I tend to see the glass half full but I also have to be a realist," Knapp said. "We have to play better defense ... The teams we play for the rest of the year are not going to be as poor on offense as Rider. Rider really just couldn't shoot.
"But we will play teams that we have to guard honestly or they will drive to the basket."
Knapp and his players recognize that the changes that were successful against Rider may not prove as effective this weekend. They will have to go up against quicker, more offensive-minded teams with stronger inside forces.
Specifically, Knapp relied less on inside powers like senior Jennifer Fleischer and freshman Maggie Burgess to defeat the weaker Rider lineup. But these players will fall back into the rotation this weekend against stronger opponents.
"It worked last time just for Rider but we will definitely need a bigger lineup for the Ivy League teams," forward Monica Naltner said. "It was a strategic move."
"Cornell is an offensive-minded team that we have to play strongly against," Knapp said.
"Both Cornell and Columbia have inside centers that people like Jen Fleischer and Maggie Burgess have to be ready for," he added.
Against Rider the Quakers showed much improvement in shooting, hitting 51 percent of their attempts from the floor. But against upcoming Ivy League teams, shooting may not play as decisive a role as defense and rebounding.
In their league opener against Princeton at the Palestra, the Quakers saw firsthand the importance of defense against stronger league contenders.
"The only experience we are taking from Princeton -- and it is a broken record for me -- is that we have to play better team defense," Knapp said. "We have to help each other wherever the ball is on the floor. We've been giving up way too many baskets."
At Princeton the Quakers remained neck and neck with the Tigers until falling apart in the last six minutes en route to a 73-55 defeat.
"We just need to be able to put in a full 40 minutes," Naltner said. "Finishing our games is something that we can take from the Princeton game."
With 13 conference games ahead of them, and two non-conference matchups against Lafayette and La Salle, Penn has many minutes of play ahead of them.
"We have a lot of pride in this program," Knapp said. "No one is happy dropping nine or 10 in a row but we have plenty of opportunity to win these next 15 or so games. That's a lot of basketball left to play."
