'Revenge game' on last homestand

Penn women's basketball has beaten just one team since November.

That team visits the Palestra tonight.

The Quakers (4-20, 1-8 Ivy) lead only one team in the Ivy standings.

That team comes to the Palestra tomorrow.

With Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) and Brown (2-22, 1-9 Ivy) visiting West Philly this weekend, the Quakers couldn't ask for a better chance at getting a pair of wins in their final home stand.

Two weeks ago, Penn expected that a road matchup against the Bears - who boasted a 1-19 mark at the time - would represent its best shot at an Ivy win.

But the Bears mauled the Red and Blue, 72-59, after jumping out to a 15-point halftime lead. The loss - Penn's 15th straight - left the Quakers as the only Ancient Eight team without a conference win.

"The Brown game is a revenge game," Penn coach Pat Knapp said. "They got some shots off that we would like to change this time around."

That Feb. 15 contest appears to have been rock-bottom for the Red and Blue.

The following night, behind 15 points and 11 rebounds from point guard Sarah Bucar, the Quakers came from behind to down the Bulldogs, 75-67, to earn their first win since Nov. 28 against Rider.

Though Bucar led the way, the difference in that contest was bench production. The Quakers' reserves out-scored Yale's 23-9 in the eight-point victory, led by freshman Kim Adams' 13 points in just 16 minutes off the bench.

However, in those weekend showdowns at Brown and Yale, Penn was whistled for a staggering 57 total fouls. This time around, the team expects to be more disciplined.

"You have to stay low," forward Carrie Biemer said. "Go straight up."

Knapp added, "I think some of our fouls are foolish and that our players can correct them."

Ball distribution will also be key for the Quakers, who rank sixth in the Ivy League in assists, ahead of only Dartmouth and Brown. Penn has averaged a tolerable 12.5 assists per game in its four wins this year, but tallied just four against Brown last time around.

"Personally, I need to pass it out more and get our running game going," said Bucar, who leads the team with 75 assists, but who is also second with 76 turnovers.

"When we're getting our running game going, we get opportunities more quickly and we don't have to set up our offense, which would give the defense a chance to get back."

- Staff writer Molin Zhong contributed reporting to this article.

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