It was a wild weekend for the Penn women's basketball team, in which - for better and for worse - nothing really went as expected. After getting picked apart by then last-place Columbia 65-46 in New York City on Friday, the Quakers (9-13, 4-5 Ivy) made the long trip up to Ithaca, N.Y. and squeaked past a talented Cornell squad by a score of 49-48.
The results from this past weekend were a complete reversal from the outcomes earlier in the season, in which Penn thrashed Columbia (7-17, 3-7) 80-62 at the Palestra and fell to Cornell (10-13, 6-4) 67-58 at home.
"Losing to Columbia isn't really something that we planned on," senior Lauren Pears said. "But the win against Cornell putsback on track to where we want to be."
Indeed, the loss to one of the Ivy League's weakest teams came as a shock to the Quakers, who before Friday had not lost to the Lions in three years.
While Penn jumped to a solid start and led in the opening minutes, Columbia's Chelsea Frazier drained a jump shot with eight minutes remaining in the first half to give her team a lead it would hold on to for good.
As Penn coach Pat Knapp pointed out, it was the Quakers' ice-cold shooting, among other things, that kept them from winning.
"Columbia just shot better than us," he said. "We've gone on a streak now where our best shooters and a lot of our players are getting good looks, so coming home to the Palestra will help with that."
The Quakers were dreadful from beyond the arc, converting just one of 12 attempts, and they sank only seven of 13 free throws.
But on Saturday, an emphasis on defensive execution allowed Penn to steal one from the Big Red.
With 2.5 seconds left in the game and Penn on top by a point, senior Joey Rhoads deflected Cornell's inbound pass, and Penn recovered the ball to secure the victory.
Senior Ashley Gray was a dominant force in the paint, scoring 14 points and pulling down 12 rebounds to record a double-double in her 25 minutes on the court.
Pears led all scorers with 16 points, shooting seven for 12 from the field and making two of four three-point attempts.
The real story for Penn was its success on defense, as it held Cornell to a measly 34 percent from the field. Both teams struggled from downtown, with the Big Red managing to hit only one of 12, while the Quakers made two of 12.
"Against Cornell, we focused on defense and rebounded at big times," Knapp said. "That's what carried us through."
Penn will try to keep up its defensive intensity this coming weekend when it hosts first-place Harvard and second-place Dartmouth, both teams ones that Knapp feels "can be beaten."
According to Gray, maintaining the same level of energy that the team displayed against Cornell will be crucial to defeating the Ivy League's top teams, both of whom beat the Red and Blue earlier in the season.
"We're going to try to keep going from the Cornell game and take the momentum into next weekend," she said.
The Harvard and Dartmouth games will be Penn's final games of the season at home, as the team will travel to Yale, Brown and Princeton over spring break to finish out the season.
