Exactly one year ago from Sunday, Penn women's basketball lost much more than a game in a 70-68 overtime heartbreaker at American. Late in the first half, now-senior Lauren Pears landed awkwardly, suffering what would be a season ending anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Now, a recovered Pears will try to help her team build upon last night's 78-74 win at Lafayette when the Quakers (3-3) seek their first home win against American (4-6), Sunday at the Palestra.
"It's full of mixed emotions," Pears said. "Obviously, it was a hard time and a difficult obstacle to overcome."
Pears has struggled to find her shooting rhythm thus far. Yet she has effectively dished the ball out to Penn's hot hands, leading the team with 24 assists.
Most of those assists have been to Pears' fellow seniors Monica Naltner and Joey Rhoads. The two have combined for 242 points - 65.2 percent of the Quakers' total points this season.
Penn coach Pat Knapp doesn't want this to continue, though.
"We're not going to play with two people all year either," Knapp said. "We can't."
Naltner has also dominated the boards for Penn. She has pulled down 49 rebounds, almost double the team's second-best rebounder - Pears - who has 25.
On the opposite bench, American will play Penn as part of a three-game roadtrip. The powerful duo of Nicole Ryan and Liz Hayes, who are combining to average 27.2 points per game, lead the Eagles' offense.
Following a season-opening win, American dropped its next five decisions. One of those came to a Delaware team that trounced Penn, 49-73. The
Eagles fared slightly better, losing 71-54.
But on Saturday, one of the two will take a big step in the opposite direction.
