The Ivy League player of the week and the Atlantic 10 and Big 5 player of the week will face off against each other when Penn (2-0) takes on La Salle (2-0) in its third game and first Big Five contest of the season.
After hitting a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds against Rider on Sunday, as well as adding 18 points three days earlier at Lehigh, the Quakers' Monica Naltner was named Ivy League player of the week.
La Salle's Crista Ricketts garnered her league's weekly honors, as well as a Big 5 accolade, while averaging 25 points and nine rebounds per game in the Explorers' two contests.
"She's off to a terrific start," La Salle coach Tom Lochner said. "She's scoring, rebounding and defending. I can't ask her to do more than she's been doing."
Although Ricketts may be leading the team in points and boards, her teammate, Carlene Hightower, is not far behind her. Hightower is averaging 23 points and seven rebounds a game.
The two of them have combined for over 63 percent of La Salle's 151 points this season.
Hightower has been in some foul trouble this year, though, committing four fouls in each of two games this season.
"They're very good," Penn coach Pat Knapp said of the duo. "But we have two people that they have to guard also."
Penn's other threat can be found in Joey Rhoads. The senior has added 21.5 points per game for her team.
"Joey's quick and handles the ball a lot," Lochner said. "She'll run the show for them."
With Rhoads and Naltner counterbalancing the force of Hightower and Ricketts, Knapp believes that success in tonight's contest will depend on how his other players perform.
"It's going to be what other players step up, particularly for us," Knapp said. "You would hope that is what will happen in a Big 5 game, that somebody else will step up."
And other Penn players have done just that.
In the Quaker's 54-53 victory over Lehigh, Maggie Burgess hit a jumper with 15 seconds left to take the lead and the victory for Penn.
Lauren Pears and Kelly Scott have added 18 and 17 points, respectively, for the Quakers in the two games combined.
Although La Salle leads the all-time series at 28-5, the Quakers beat the Explorers 51-49 in their last meeting at the Palestra in 2004. That win against La Salle was also the start to a 2-2 Big 5 finish for Penn. The Red and Blue went on to claim a share of the Ivy League title that year.
"They are a Big 5 threat," Lochner said of Penn. "They're a team that's off to a 2-0 start."
But because of the offensive playmakers on both teams, Knapp thinks the game will be decided on defense.
"We have to rebound," Knapp said. "We have to block out and aggressively rebound."
Naltner leads Penn with 11 defensive rebounds, while Pears has contributed nine on the season.
As La Salle has averaged 75.5 points per game in two contests - ten more than Penn - Knapp's team will have to keep that number down.
"How many points we'll need? Well, it depends on how well we defend," Knapp said.
