SOUTH ORANGE, N.J., Jan. 15 - Just over a minute into the Quakers' contest at Seton Hall last night, Penn guard Sarah Bucar came up with a loose ball and flipped it to Anca Popovici, who looked up the court for an easy fast break. She saw Maggie Burgess and lobbed up a pass, hoping to hit her on the run.
But the Pirates were a step quicker. They stole the ball before it ever got to Burgess and quickly converted a three-pointer to open the scoring.
It was that kind of game for the women's basketball team last night at Seton Hall. The closest the two teams ever got was when they shook hands at the end. Penn travelled, airballed and turned it over all the way to a 67-50 loss.
In fact, it's been that kind of season, as the Red and Blue dropped their tenth straight game and fell to just 3-13 (0-1 Ivy). But the Pirates (12-3, 2-1 Big East) were a tough matchup, having won seven of their last eight heading in and owning a 13-game home winning streak.
However, that was no excuse for the general carelessness with which Penn played. Seton Hall pounced on a sloppy Quakers squad that looked as if it felt boxing out and help defense were optional.
"Whenever you play a team as good as Seton Hall, you have to really steel yourself and be mentally prepared from the first minute," Penn coach Pat Knapp said. "We were weak early on. And with the Ivy season coming up, we're going to have to be able to switch gears for tough games."
Even had they played better, it's unlikely that Penn would have beaten the Pirates last night. Every last-second shot-clock buzzer-beater, one-hand runner, and hand-in-the-face jumper seemed to go down.
"It was really tough watching that," Penn guard Caitlin Slover said. "Watching them hit some of those shots really took its toll on us."
On the other hand, the Quakers had trouble sinking even their open shots. While they generated opportunities off the drive-and-dish and screens, they were unable to convert.
And there was no answer for Seton Hall's 6-foot-2 forward Noteisha Womack. While she was not the tallest player on the floor, her length gave the Red and Blue problems on both sides of the floor. She owned the glass, grabbing 10 boards by the half and finishing with 14 caroms and 13 points in just 24 minutes. Womack was one of several Pirates starters to get pulled with 10 minutes to play.
Despite the result, and the losing streak dating to November, Knapp still felt that his team is only a game away from turning the corner.
"If you saw us against Temple or St. Peter's, which are similar teams [to Seton Hall], we've definitely improved," he said.
When asked when he believed the team would snap it's winning streak, he quickly answered: "Next game."
Slover echoed his optimism.
"We go into every game expecting to win," she said. "We think we can turn it around."
