The Penn women’s basketball team (0-8) doesn’t have much to be happy about at the end of the semester. Life is tough when you haven’t won a game since last March.
But things may be looking up soon as the slate of six games that the Quakers will play over winter break pits them against only two teams with winning records.
First up for Penn are two struggling New York teams making a trip to the Palestra.
Tuesday’s opponent, Mount Saint Mary’s (3-6), has lost five of its last six games after a strong start.
And until Saturday’s narrow 59-54 victory over Colgate, St. Francis (N.Y.) (1-7) was on a skid similar to the Quakers. The Terriers likely represent Penn’s best chance of getting its first win Thursday.
For a team that has faced big challenges thus far, opponents with poor records are a welcome sight.
“The first five games were pretty tough,” sophomore forward Jess Knapp said. “Our strength of schedule was up there [with the best] in the nation.”
Penn will stay close to home to take on La Salle (2-6) Jan. 2 at Tom Gola Arena before it faces perhaps its toughest opponent when Lehigh (7-2)comes to the Palestra Jan. 5.
The Mountain Hawks boast a rich collection of scorers, led by junior Erica Prosser and her 17.1 points per game.
Though the non-conference tuneups will bring solid competition, the Quakers have their eyes on the Ivy League season that begins Jan. 9 when the stakes get much higher.
“I think everyone understands what the Ivy League games mean,” Knapp said. “I’m not writing the games we’ve played off … but definitely up until Ivy League games start … we’re focusing on improving every day, getting ourselves prepared mentally[and] physically, in all aspects for the Ivy season.”
The Quakers will kick off against a Princeton opponent (6-2). Coach Mike McLaughlin described Princeton as a “very good, very talented” team.
The Tigers are helmed by freshman standout Niveen Rasheed, the conference leading scorer at nearly 18 points per game.
Princeton has dominated their opponents thus far, winning by an average of 16.8 points and forcing 21.6 turnovers per game.
“They’ve done a great job over there,” McLaughlin said.
Following their Princeton opener, Penn will wrap up their out of conference season on Jan. 13 at Saint Joseph’s (3-6). The game will be their final chance to prepare for the major stretch of Ivy games that begins Jan. 29.
“The [non-conference] games aren’t just washes,” Knapp reiterated. “We’re trying to get wins under our belt.”
The team will rely on Knapp and senior Sarah Bucar who have both stepped up in recent games to give Penn an effective one-two punch. Bucar, the team’s leading scorer, dropped a career high 25 points against Lafayette Dec. 2.
With a parade of struggling teams on the winter break schedule, the Quakers have a chance for multiple wins over the next three weeks.
And regardless of the results, the Quakers can take advantage of the wide variety of opponents that they will see to prepare them for Ivy play.
“Every team we’ve played has been very different — and were just preparing for Princeton, the Ivy season, everything that’s ahead of us.,” Knapp said.
With a big-picture attitude, she also knows that the Quakers will need to focus on each game over winter break in order to fulfill their most immediate task: securing the elusive first win.
“We’ll do it one game at a time,” Knapp said. “Any team on any given night can pull out a win.”
