Busy night of basketball

Football team's loss to Yale got you down? It seemed quickly forgotten for one night during an exciting night of Penn basketball.

The men's and women's teams each held their annual Red and Blue (read: White and Blue) scrimmages. Then with a few minutes remaining in the men's game, the announcement was made of the formation of "The Line" for students to buy men's season tickets.

Here are some notes and thoughts from an eventful night.

Men's scrimmage:

White (Zoller, Danley, Grandieri, Cohen, Franklin, Schreiber and Smith) defeated Blue (Jaaber, McMahon, Lewis, Votel, Egee, Gill and Reilly) 60-46. At the time of the line announcement, Mark Zoller led White with 15 and Ibrahim Jaaber led blue with 18.

Jaaber's Blue team fell just hours after I was told by coach Glen Miller that his team never loses in scrimmages.

In what could be a preview of things to come, 12 of the 14 players (by my unofficial count) attempted at least one three-pointer during the scrimmage, including Zoller and fellow big men Brennan Votel, Steve Danley and Andreas Schreiber. Miller said that shooting has been a point of emphasis and especially Danley has greatly improved his outside stroke.

Freshman looked good. Didn't seem to have a problem with the speed of the game. Darren Smith made a couple of questionable decisions, including going up against two big men underneath only to have his layup stuffed. But at other times he looked like a vet, and he drained a pair of threes.

Jaaber, playing for a team which was severely overmatched in the front court, kept his team in the game the best he could with several fast break layups and two threes. He's also sporting a large tattoo near his left shoulder. From my seat, it appeared to be an angel, but I can't be sure.

Women's scrimmage:

The women decided to do it a little differently, going with first team against second team. The Blue team, featuring the top eight, routed the benchers 42-16, led by Monica Naltner's 15 points.

Naltner looked fantastic, playing for the first time in who-knows-how-long without a knee brace. Her shots were on and she was taking the ball to the hole without any hesitation.

Speaking of shots going down, Carrie Biemer was on fire for the starters, nailing four three-pointers for her only 12 points of the day.

Freshman Caitlin Slover out of Archbishop Wood High School earned a spot in the top eight, and she was joined by captians Joey Rhoads, Lauren Pears and Naltner, Maggie Burgess, Kelly Scott, Anca Popovici and Biemer.

The Line:

One year after Strikes, The Line came to the other end of campus at World Cafe Live. For the second straight year, kudos to the athletic department for an excellent choice of line location. Also, way to take advantage of a sponsorship deal to create a great event.

Taking a taxi to the secret location? Cheating or resourceful? Haven't decided yet.