W. Hoops: Defensive stand can't hold Wildcats

Joey Rhoads had what it took to end her team's frustration against Villanova, but even that wasn't enough. Villanova downed Penn 57-50 yesterday afternoon at the Palestra.

"When you lose by such a close margin, you think about all the little things you could have done throughout the game," the senior tri-captain said. "We had them."

The Quakers (2-3, 0-2 Big 5) have not beaten the Wildcats (4-4, 1-1) since a 69-62 overtime victory five years ago.

Prior to that, Penn's last victory against its intracity rival came when Gerald Ford was still in the White House.

Yesterday, however, the Quakers battled hard and nearly pulled off the upset.

A Monica Naltner three-pointer, with just under four minutes left in the second, capped a 12-0 Quakers run and brought them within two.

But that's as close as they would get.

After a defensive stop, Penn had a chance to shoot for the tie. Naltner missed a jumper but recovered her own rebound, only to have Penn freshman Catlin Slover turn the ball over.

Two more defensive stands gave Penn more opportunities on which they could not capitalize. With two minutes left, Lauren Pears' wide-open attempt from beyond the arc rattled around inside the rim but did not fall. Naltner's jump shot from the middle clanked off the front of the rim, and with under a minute remaining, Penn was forced to foul.

The Wildcats went 7-for-8 from the line in the final minute to negate the Quakers' late surge.

Coming off a poor performance against Delaware last Wednesday, in which she managed just six points, Rhoads led all scorers with 21 points yesterday.

And in the first half she was the only one who shot with any consistency. She scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while her teammates combined for 11 on 4-of-21.

The Quakers were also plagued by their inability to sink easy layups early in the game.

But coach Pat Knapp defended his players' effort.

"They're not trying to miss shots," he said. "It's a product of the game. They are playing hard. They are going full speed and someone gets in the way, maybe they don't get their feet right."

The Quakers came out of the locker room during halftime and formed a layup line. The practice paid off, as the Quakers sunk their first three attempts after the game resumed and shot 41.4 percent from the floor after the break.

"Our first key to win this game was our offense," Knapp said. "So it really comes down to what plays we ran, did we get what we wanted, and I think we're going to see that we had a lot of opportunities."

Knapp decided at the last minute to start Katarina Lackner instead of Maggie Burgess because he wanted a more agile lineup. Slover and sophomore Kelly Scott received significant playing time, especially down the stretch.

Once again, however, Rhoads and Naltner were the only Quakers to make any real offensive impact. The two senior standouts combined for 41 of the Quakers' 50 points.

Still, Penn won both the rebounding and turnover battles and stifled the Villanova offense. The Wildcats' only points in the final 11 minutes came off of intentional fouls. Jackie Adamshick, their leading scorer and only returning starter, was limited to 10 points.

But clearly the Quakers' defense could only take them so far.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.