Kelly Scott's teammates have no problem with her horsing around - off the court, that is.
Scott, a senior on the women's basketball team, picked up horseback riding as a youngster on a weekend excursion with her mom and continued competitively into high school.
Riding might seem impractical in the urban sprawl of New York where Scott grew up, but she found a way to rein in her passion.
"[My family] has a house in Jersey, so I used to ride every weekend and then all summer," says Scott. "There is actually a place in New York which I went one time, but it's like an old parking garage."
During sophomore year of high school, Scott made the decision to trade in her jodhpurs and helmet for a full-time sleeveless jersey and basketball shoes.
After a post-graduate year at Blair Academy in New Jersey, Scott took her basketball skills to Penn, where she has earned two Most Improved Player awards and became the team's third-leading scorer (8.9 points per game) as a junior.
But Scott was still quiet about her previous experience in the saddle. Her teammates had to find out for themselves by spotting old ribbons and memorabilia on the walls of her house.
"We just saw her pictures," said Anca Popovici, a fellow senior. "She looks so good. I don't know how she does it."
Coach Pat Knapp was unaware of her equestrian talent until yesterday.
"I know nothing about Kelly's hobby, and it may be totally benign and safe," Knapp said. "I do know you can bet on horses, though, under NCAA rules because there's no horse racing as an NCAA sport."
Scott has followed in the footsteps of several family members - not with horses, but hoops.
Her older brother, Will, was a guard for Cornell in the 2004-2005 season. He has since transferred to Louisville and even saw two minutes of playing time in the Cardinals' Sweet Sixteen win over Tennessee.
Both of Scott's parents are surgeons but couldn't stay away from the court, either. Her father used to be team doctor for the New York Knicks, and her mother held the same position with the Big Apple's WNBA squad, the Liberty.
Scott is headed for medical school, too, after graduation and a year of post-bac courses.
Unfortunately, a house full of M.D.'s couldn't prevent a tear of her left anterior cruciate ligament at the end of the 2007-08 season that has hindered her activity since, and she has a foot-long knee brace to prove it.
Still, Scott started 13 of 14 games down the stretch last season and has almost returned to full cantor.
"She's done everything right to rehab and get back," Knapp said. "She's allowed to play 20-25 minutes right now."
Scott does "a ton of leg extensions" to strengthen her atrophied quad. Oddly enough, she said, she was never injured when falling off a horse.
When she's back in New York, Scott tries to find time to ride again. She recently searched the Internet for riding venues around Philadelphia, but to no avail.
Her climb to a full-time starter was not a ride on "Easy Street" - coincidentally, the name of her first horse - but even the injury won't slow Scott for long, because she knows that once you fall off, you get right back on.
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