Experience is in short supply

On the surface, it seems like the Penn women's basketball team may be in for a rough season.

The Quakers finished in fourth place in the Ivy League with a 12-15 overall record last year, but the team graduated four seniors - who combined for 70 percent of the team's scoring.

Of last year's starters, only juniors Anca Popovici and Maggie Burgess return, and guard Kimberly Franklin is the lone senior on the roster.

To make matters worse, Kelly Scott, the team's leading returning scorer, has a foot injury that will likely keep her out of the lineup for at least the first two weeks of the season.

Yet despite the relative youth and inexperience of this year's squad, the team is cautiously optimistic about the coming season.

"I think the beauty about our team is that everybody can step up," Popovici said. "We are all pretty much at the same level."

The Quakers are only two years removed from a disappointing 5-22 season, but fourth-year coach Patrick Knapp does not believe his team is headed for a similar rebuilding year.

"Somebody will step up," Knapp said. "Kim Franklin, our senior, will give us the best leadership she can. We're expecting our five juniors to step up and show us their experience and their improvement."

After losing their top three scorers, the Quakers may have to be defined more this year by their hustle, defense and rebounding.

"We emphasize defense, so that means we have to be scrappy," said Popovici, who won the team's Hustle Award last year. "We're just a team that's going to fight for everything."

The bigger challenge, however, will be finding consistent scoring threats.

Knapp said junior forwards Amy Donovan and Carrie Biemer have emerged as possibilities and are in the tentative starting lineup. As a senior, Franklin will also be a first-time starter and will look to carry some of the scoring burden. Popovici and transfer Sarah Bucar will likely round out the starting five.

"The biggest adjustment that's going to take place with this team is going to be how quickly the freshmen blend in and make a contribution," Knapp said.

"We're going to use them at some point, depending on how they adjust and develop."

Bucar, who will start at point guard this year, may be the team's secret weapon. In her freshman year at West Virginia, Bucar's team reached the Big East championship game, including a victory over then 6th-ranked Rutgers.

"The Big East is obviously one of the best conferences in the country," Bucar said. "But I would never talk down on the Ivies."

In addition, Knapp has added new wrinkles to his offensive system in order to emphasize the strengths of his current players.

"We're experimenting with different lineups. We're trying to see what groups work with each other the best," said Knapp, whose season begins on Friday at the Elon Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.

"The bottom line is it's going to take time."

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