The Penn women's basketball team only has six wins, two of which were against Yale and Brown two weeks ago at the Palestra.
So when the Quakers (6-17, 3-6 Ivy) go on the road to face the Bulldogs (10-14, 3-7) and Bears (3-21, 1-9) tonight and tomorrow, respectively, they will have a little extra confidence with those past triumphs fresh in their minds.
But considering their struggles this season, they can't allow that confidence to convert into cockiness.
"You have to wipe the slate clean," coach Pat Knapp said. "They're out for revenge. We're out to get a streak going. So two worlds collide."
If the previous meetings are any indication, those two worlds are likely to be the ball and the rim.
Yale and Brown combined to miss 79 field goals - bad enough for a 28.8 percent clip - while tallying only 95 total points. For the Quakers, who have had difficulties scoring all season, the clanging of bricks was, for once, music to their ears.
But by forcing so many missed shots, Penn must be wary of allowing too many rebounds and putbacks.
Knapp called Brown's guards, who gathered nine of the Bears' 17 offensive boards in the first meeting, "especially dangerous" in that category.
"I think sometimes we get caught up in where our man was, instead of where they're going to be crashing," junior guard Sarah Bucar said. "It's just about effort."
Against the Bulldogs, the key will be shutting down guards Melissa Colborne and Jamie Van Horne. The duo combined for 10 of Yale's 13 field goals in the first meeting, including eight three-pointers.
"Colborne is not really known as a three-point threat," Bucar said. "It's not something she's looking to do, so we have to concentrate more on the people that have established themselves as shooters," like Van Horne.
Neither Yale nor Brown carries a consistent interior threat, so the matchups will likely dictate that Penn move to a four-guard lineup.
"Our [frontline] has done a great job shutting down post players for the most part this season," sophomore guard Erin Power said, "so these next two games will definitely be a test of the guards' ability to play some defense."
If the New England teams utilize the full-court press like they did two weeks ago, it'll be up to Penn's guards to break it. In those games, Penn had varying success, as the team turned the ball over 21 times against Yale and 15 times against Brown, yet several times converted broken pressure into easy layups for forwards Carrie Biemer and Jerin Smith.
Nevertheless, after focusing throughout the week on rebounding, defensive concepts and offensive execution, Knapp spent yesterday's practice focusing on breaking the press.
Although Penn's defense proved to be a winning formula the first time around, the grudge matches may have a different dynamic.
"You get a feel for how they are as a team, but at the same time they know how you play," Power said, "and both teams try and adapt to what the other team can do."
