Red and Blue looking to rebound from tough loss

For the second year in a row, the Quakers are hoping to have short memories following a blowout loss to Delaware.

Penn (2-2) will once again be trying to bounce back when it concludes its three-game homestand and continues its Big 5 schedule against Villanova (3-4) on Sunday.

The Wildcats are also looking to rebound from a tough defeat, as they recently lost by 26 points to No. 21 George Washington.

If history is any indication, this weekend's matchup will not be easy for the Quakers. The Wildcats have owned them throughout their long rivalry, losing only twice in 33 tries. Penn was downed by 34 points in last year's contest.

Neither coach, however, is interested in the past.

"Being aware [of our historical struggles] . doesn't mean a damn thing," Penn coach Pat Knapp said. "The team has to get ready for different personnel and different styles each game. You can't even look at the last game, let alone the last two Villanova games."

Knapp's counterpart, Harry Perretta, has lost to Penn only once in his 28 years at Villanova. But he does not consider victory a forgone conclusion.

"This is a different Villanova team than in the past couple of years - we're very young," he said. "We're just very vulnerable at this point, so we're taking the game very seriously."

The Wildcats lost four of their five starters from last season. Senior Jackie Adamshick, the lone holdover, is averaging nearly a double-double: 16 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. However, she is surrounded exclusively by underclassmen.

The young team has sunk only 38.2 percent of its shot attempts, down from 41.7 percent last year. It has also not been as effective at holding onto the ball, with 12.6 turnovers per game this year and a negative turnover margin.

Those numbers represent a big drop-off for a school that had the fewest turnovers in the country each of the last four seasons. Yet Villanova still has four fewer turnovers per game than Penn.

In addition to maintaining possession, the Quakers will be looking for strong performances from their key players. Joey Rhoads was the only consistent offensive threat last season, but was held to just six on 2-for-9 shooting Wednesday.

"Joey's got a lot of heart, she's a smart player and she will rebound," Knapp said.

Monica Naltner accounted for the Quakers' only production against Delaware, scoring a career-high 25 points. Perretta says his team must keep her from getting the ball.

"Pat runs a lot of motion-type offense, so she's going to be moving a lot," he said. "So it's harder to limit her touches, but that's what we're going to try to do."

Even with Naltner and Rhoads at their best, however, the Red and Blue is still missing one key piece to the puzzle.

"Our key is finding that third person, an inside threat," Knapp said. "Beyond Monica, we need to find the best post players on our team who will defend and be an offensive threat. They can't do just one or the other."

On the other side of the ball, the Quakers will be dealing with a challenging offense.

"The bottom line is that they probably run about 20 sets and a nice motion offense," Knapp said. "So some things we'll know and be aware of, but other things we'll have to rely on strong team defense and help for us to defend them."

If the Quakers can find both of those components - another option on offense and solid team defense - then they may finally be able to defeat their intracity foes.

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