Home-court advantage? The law of averages? The mercy of the basketball gods?
The Quakers (3-15, 0-3 Ivy) are hopeful that one of these forces can bring them relief from a 12-game skid as they host Columbia (5-13, 2-2) and Cornell (11-6, 3-1) at the Palestra this weekend.
Though the Red and Blue are winless since their Nov. 28 contest against Rider, the team did show signs of life in a pair of Ivy road showdowns last weekend.
Penn amassed its highest point total in over a month last Friday at Harvard (62), but the Crimson - last season's Ivy champs - prevailed with a late bucket to seal a one-point win. On the following evening, Penn led by four at the half at Dartmouth before the Big Green rallied in the late stages for a five-point victory.
"It's not fun to lose when you should have beaten those teams, but it was a huge improvement," forward Maggie Burgess said.
"It's encouraging that we did as well as we did, and we know that we'll be able to do that well, if not better, coming into the weekend."
"We've had so much progress, and we just want to keep it up," guard Anca Popovici said. "Now we just need to finish the game."
Though the Quakers' offensive execution has vastly improved in recent games, their work on the glass is a concern. After allowing an unsettling 13 offensive rebounds to Harvard - which led to 14 second-chance points - Penn surrendered a whopping 21 offensive boards the next night at Dartmouth.
In total, the Big Green out-rebounded the Red and Blue by nearly two-to-one ratio, 46-24.
To make matters worse, both visiting teams this weekend bring along a sizable low-post presence.
Cornell's Jeomi Maduka leads the Ancient Eight with eight rebounds per game, while Columbia's Chelsea Frazier ranks fifth on that list with 6.9.
By contrast, the Quakers have no players in the top 10.
"It becomes a muscle-memory reflex for them, and they've gotta get tougher," coach Pat Knapp said of his team's rebounding struggles.
"They rebounded tough against Harvard. Dartmouth's post players moved a little bit more quickly, and we need to react to that."
With nearly a month elapsed since their last home game, the Quakers are optimistic that a return to the white jerseys will bring them better fortune on the boards - and in the win column.
Though the team has won just two of its six contests at the Palestra this season, that mark seems stellar when compared to Penn's play away from home, where the squad has lost 11 out of 12.
And with seven of the team's 11 remaining conference matchups being played at the Palestra, the Quakers know that they must capitalize in the coming weeks if they hope to be a factor in the Ivy race.
"We have a chance to win every one of them," Knapp said of his squad's home slate.
"But it starts with one game."
