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(02/05/97 10:00am)
Freshman Shelly Fogarty is also finding her range from downtown, while Maldonado cleans the glass. Alert to Ivy League defenses -- Penn shooting guard Colleen Kelly has found her prolific touch from three-point range. On Saturday night against Cornell, Kelly shot her way into the Quakers record book by bucketing seven shots from downtown. Kelly surpassed the old Penn record of six, most recently achieved by Shelly Bowers versus Columbia on February 24, 1995. "I knew that the record was six," Kelly said on Saturday. "But, that wasn't even close to what I was thinking of." The previous night against Columbia, Kelly came one trifecta shy of the three-point record -- striking five-of-eight from behind the arc. Over the two-game span, Kelly shot 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from three-point range. Based upon this weekend's performance, Kelly was selected as the Big Five Women's Player of the Week. For the season, the long-range bomber is now 43-for-118 (36.4 percent) from downtown. At this pace, she will finish the season with 70 three-pointers, nine more than Jen Dorfmeister's Quakers record of 61, set in 1990-91. · Also finding the range is Penn freshman Shelly Fogarty. The 5-foot-11 forward had been struggling with her outside shot. But, against Cornell, the frosh scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Fogarty hit three shots from downtown in 28 minutes playing time, including a basket from the left elbow of the arc with just 36.3 seconds remaining in the game. This basket cut a 64-60 Big Red lead down to one point. "Its a lot about practice and confidence," Fogarty said. "I wasn't thinking [about] anything. I was just acting as if it was a normal everyday shot." · Last week's Ivy League Player of the Week, Penn junior Michelle Maldonado, has evolved into one of the nation's most dominating rebounders. The 5-foot-10 forward grabbed 21 balls off the glass on Saturday night against Cornell. She is now third in Division I in rebounding, averaging 11.8 boards per game. Only Georgia State's Etolia Mitchell (13.9) and Minnesota's Angie Iverson (12.1) average more per contest. Maldonado leads both the Ivy League and the Big Five in rebounding. In addition, she ranks among the Ivy leaders in points (sixth) and field goal percentage (fifth). · Over the past two weeks, Penn coach Julie Soriero has increased the bench's playing time. Each Quaker made her way onto the court in last Monday's 64-50 loss to LaFayette. Eleven different players saw time on Saturday as well, when Penn defeated the Lions. But no Quaker has experienced a bigger change in playing time than senior co-captain Amy Tarr. The 5-foot-9 guard saw minimal action in the early stages of the season, as Soriero played Chelsea Hathaway and Kelly at the guard positions for close to the full 40 minutes. Tarr, however, has seen at least 18 minutes in each of the Quakers' past three games. Soriero's new four-player rotation with the guards and small forward has given Tarr the chance to spell Fogarty, Hathaway and Kelly in the line-up. Although her shooting ability is limited, Tarr has done a solid job at taking the ball to the hoop. She also is one of the Quakers' stronger defenders. Tarr replaced Hathaway in the line-up after halftime of Saturday's contest. In 18 minutes, the Quakers co-captain scored four points, grabbed two rebounds, and added two assists. "I wanted to go with a little bit more maturity," Soriero said on Saturday, explaining why she went with Tarr at the point in the second half against Cornell. · Saturday night was autograph night at the Palestra. A season-high 452 were in attendance to witness Penn's 65-44 blowout of Columbia. The crowd included many girls' recreational teams, most of which stayed for the post-game festivities.
(02/03/97 10:00am)
The Palestra was rocking this weekend with Penn women's basketball. Friday night was the Quakers' home opener in the league. Columbia (3-14, 0-5 Ivy League) came to town, and the Red and Blue sent the Lions packing with a 65-44 shellacking -- the Lions' seventh consecutive loss on Penn's home court. Saturday night the Red and Blue hoped to do the same to Cornell (10-7, 5-1). After falling behind in the first half 35-22, the chances of a Penn (6-10, 2-2) victory looked slim. But the Quakers fought back behind junior guard Colleen Kelly's 29 points -- including an all-time Quakers record seven three-point baskets. With just 26.3 seconds left in regulation, Kelly stepped up to the arc and drilled her seventh trifecta, tying the game up at 66, and bringing the crowd to its feet. "I like steals and assists just as much as points," Kelly said. "But since they were doing a great job on the post double- and triple-teaming Michelle [Maldonado] and Deana [Lewis], I had no choice but to keep shooting." A Maldonado block deflected by forward Shelly Fogarty off the leg of a Cornell player gave the ball back to Penn with an option of holding for a final shot. But instead Penn coach Julie Soriero devised a quick play for a feed down low to Maldonado. With the onslaught of the Big Red triple team on her tail, the 5-foot-10 forward made a power move in the paint. But, her shot was too hard off the backboard. And a victory was not to be for the Quakers, as Big Red guard Kim Ruck took the ball down the length of the court, drew a foul and hit one from the line for her game-high 30th point. Cornell forward Cheran Cordell added two more from the line, as the Big Red held on for a narrow 69-66 victory. "As a team we were not satisfied," Penn co-captain Amy Tarr said. "We had a chance to win, but we didn't. Our aim was to get two Ivy wins." Early on, it did not look as if the Quakers would be within reach in the closing minutes. Cornell's 5-foot-2 point guard, Kacee English, took control of the game's flow from the opening minute when she drove through the Quakers defense, and then on the other end drew an offensive charge foul on Quakers point guard Chelsea Hathaway. English's defensive pressure on Hathaway often forced her to pick up her dribble beyond the three-point line, altering the flow of Penn's offense. "I have to go up against the big girls in practice," English said. "So, I'm used to it come the games." But in the second half, Soriero substituted co-captain Amy Tarr into the game to run the point. The reserve guard showed some ability to penetrate past English, and Kelly and Fogarty caught fire. Fogarty found the shooting touch, finishing with 15 points, including a three-point bucket on a feed from Hathaway with 36.3 seconds to go. The shot brought Penn within one. Defensively, Maldonado patrolled the boards, preventing the Big Red from seeing many second-half shots. Despite a difficult night shooting the ball, Maldonado kept Penn close with 15 of her 21 boards coming on the defensive end. The 5-foot-10 junior now ranks fourth in the nation in rebounds with 12.2 boards per game. "We came back nicely," Soriero said. "It would have been nice if we could have pulled it out." Friday night was a different story, however, for Penn as 11 Quakers saw playing time in the blowout victory of Columbia. Maldonado led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes. Kelly added 12 points and six steals. Even though the Quakers could not sweep their home weekend series with Columbia and Cornell as they did a year ago, this weekend was a step in the right direction for Penn. The team is starting to play a more cohesive brand of basketball. Their exciting brand of basketball has translated into closer games and better crowd turnouts. "Last year we lost here, so we knew how good they could be," English said. "But, they improved a tremendous amount. They've got a lot of confidence this year." The Daily Pennsylvanian's Tom Magee contributed to this story.
(01/31/97 10:00am)
Seeing most of their time on the pine, the two W. Hoops players make the most of their minutes. At the outset of the 1996-97 women's basketball season, Penn freshman Jen Houser and sophomore Sue Van Stone were sitting on the bench for the game's full 40 minutes. Wrist tendinitis prevented Houser from taking the court. Van Stone, unlike Houser, was healthy. But with the backcourt tandem of freshman Chelsea Hathaway and junior Colleen Kelly getting the job done, Penn coach Julie Soriero rarely inserted her into the lineup. But in Tuesday night's 64-50 loss at Lafayette, Hathaway and center Deana Lewis both found themselves in foul trouble. Couple this with the shooting struggle of Kelly (0-for-3) and forward Shelly Fogarty (1-for-9) from the field, and Soriero had no choice but to use her bench -- namely Houser and Van Stone. It took Houser a few minutes before she got into the offensive flow. But the 5-foot-11 forward made the most of her 10 minutes on the court, shooting two-for-two from the field and hauling down three rebounds. "Being a freshman, I'm tentative. But if I'm in the game for a longer period of time, I get more confidence," Houser said. "Because of [the injury] I was very far behind everyone else. Everyone was already in top shape, and I had to learn the plays and readjust." Houser joins starters Hathaway and Fogarty as the third member of Soriero's heralded freshman class. As Houser recovers from her wrist injury and becomes acclimated to the offense, the Red and Blue will only improve. In Houser's limited minutes, the frosh is third on the team in field goal percentage (47.6 percent) and first among bench players in rebounds (2.5 per game). Interestingly, her motivation on the basketball court arises from her posters of a certain, well-known Chicago Bulls superstar. "My room is so homey and cool with basketball paraphernalia," Houser joked. "Chelsea [Hathaway] and I look at our pictures of Michael Jordan, and it psyches us up for the game." In her freshman year, Van Stone saw 237 minutes on the floor. This year, however, the 5-foot-10 guard's minutes have been much harder to come by. Hathaway and Kelly are each averaging 35-plus minutes per game. And Soriero has turned to senior captain Amy Tarr and junior Hope Smith to fill in for the starting backcourt rather than Van Stone. But on Tuesday night, Kelly played just 16 minutes, opening up backcourt time for Van Stone as well as Tarr and Smith. Even though Van Stone was the last of the Quakers' six guards to step off the bench, she added the most pronounced contribution of the lot. In 16 minutes, the sophomore scored three points, grabbed three rebounds and recorded a team-high three steals. "Defense is my first focus on the court," Van Stone said. "Even if you are having a night when your shot is not falling, you can always play good defense." Houser and Van Stone's emergence is key for the Quakers, who will likely turn to their bench a little more this weekend with home games against Columbia on Friday and Cornell on Saturday. Penn (5-8, 1-1 Ivy League) will be the favorites on Friday night. Columbia finished last in the Ivies at 1-13 a year ago, with their lone win coming over the Quakers. But while the Red and Blue are much improved from a year ago, the Lions (3-13, 0-4) are not -- and once again have sole possession of the Ivy League cellar. Offensively, Columbia is led by Leslie Zahm's 10.5 points per game. Senior forward Courtney Ailshouse is also emerging offensively, making the Ivy League Honor Roll by scoring 15 points in the Lions' overtime loss to Cornell. Cornell (8-7, 3-1), however, will be a tougher matchup for the Quakers. 5-foot-2 point guard Kacee English uses her quickness to wear down opponents. English averages 9.3 points and 5.2 assists per game, running the Big Red offense. Hathaway has seven inches on English and should have no trouble posting her up inside. But the Penn point guard will have to be extra careful with the ball in her own backcourt because English will look to swipe it. The Big Red also have the defensive presence of Kelly Jackson going in their favor. Jackson averages 6.3 boards and 1.5 blocks per game. But the team's Achilles' heel is in the turnover department. As a team, the Big Red average 19.4 turnovers per game. And their lead scorer, Kim Ruck averages a troublesome 5.3 turnovers. For Penn to have a shot at a weekend sweep, the key will be strong play from both the starters and the bench. This means continued domination by last week's Ivy League Player of the Week Michelle Maldonado, offensive support from Lewis, ball control by Hathaway, and a refound shooting touch by Kelly and Fogarty. "Our best games are yet to come when both our starters and bench play well," Van Stone said. "Coming off a loss, we are ready to unleash on the next team we play."
(01/23/97 10:00am)
Health will be a major concern for the Penn women's basketball team tonight when they take on Loyola (4-11) at the Palestra. Since last Tuesday's 60-51 loss to Villanova, Penn (4-8) has been stricken by the injury bug. The starting backcourt of freshman Chelsea Hathaway and junior Colleen Kelly spent much of the week on the trainer's table. Other Quakers, for example freshman Jen Houser, also have missed time while recovering from nagging injuries. Penn's shortage of healthy bodies has limited any type of five-on-five drills in practice. "We've taken this period as a recovery time," senior co-captain Deana Lewis said. "We have so many injuries right now. We are doing a lot of shooting drills and defensive drills where you don't need all the people out there." Penn trainer Debbie Roberts is giving her best effort to have all of the Quakers healthy and ready to play by tonight. But if any of the squad members cannot take off their warm-ups, Penn coach Julie Soriero will count on co-captains Lewis and Amy Tarr -- two healthy players in the Quakers rotation -- to step up their play. Lewis is Penn's most accurate shooter at 53.7 percent (44-82) from the field, eight percentage points up from a year ago. The 6-foot-1 center also is Penn's best scorer in the paint, having both right- and left-handed hook-shots. If one or more of the Quakers' starters is unable to play tonight, Lewis will have to take on a leading role in the offense. Tarr has seen less playing time. Coming off the bench, the senior guard averages just seven minutes per game. But as the sixth player in the Penn line-up, Tarr has only once seen as much as 18 minutes of playing-time in a game this year. When the 5-foot-9 guard steps onto the court, she moves the ball well on offense and adds intensity on the defensive end. "I think that anyone who gets minutes off the bench will just have to work hard and finish what the starters have begun," Tarr said. Loyola rides into the Palestra fresh off a 79-59 victory over Niagara. Six-foot-one senior Lynn Albert led the way for the Greyhounds with 25 points on 12-17 shooting. Backup center Dawn Gedrich added eight points in just ten minutes off the bench. Loyola trailed by nine, 36-27, at the half to Niagara. But coach Pat Coyle's Greyhounds turned it around after the break, outscoring the Lady Eagles in the second half, 52-23. The Greyhounds employ the same offense as the Red and Blue. Therefore, assuming that Coyle has no tricks up his sleeve, Penn should know what to expect from Loyola's offensive scheme. Defensively, the Quakers will have to focus on Albert, but all the Greyhounds starters are willing to take the outside shot. Off the bench, Loyola looks to Gerdich and 5-foot-6 point guard Kristin Fraser to contribute. Fraser, the Greyhound's junior co-captain, proceeded Hathaway as the starting point guard at Christ the King High School in New York City. She averages just 2.9 points per game. Heading into tonight's game, Penn has dropped two straight contests. But Loyola is not as strong a team as either Brown or Villanova -- the two teams that have defeated the Quakers. Soriero has spent much time in practice working on offensive rebounding drills. And there is reason to believe that even despite injuries, the Quakers could defeat the Greyhounds. "I definitely think that can win each game [remaining]," Tarr said. "We just have to take it one game at a time."
(01/16/97 10:00am)
Penn graduate Kristen Bendel, the 1991 Big 5 Women's Player of the Year, was recently inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame. Bendel is the Quakers' all-time leading scorer with 1,656 points. In the 1990-91 season, Bendel averaged 24.3 points per game en route to earning Ivy League Player of the Year honors. Bendel is also the second leading rebounder in Quakers history. The Hall of Famer grabbed 847 balls off the glass, averaging a personal best 11.0 rebounds per game in 1990-1991. While Bendel's scoring records are well intact, her rebounding records are in danger of being surpassed. Penn junior forward Michelle Maldonado's 11.7 boards per game places her sixth in the nation in that category. This season, Maldonado has more than tripled her career average of 3.8 boards per game. Offensively, Maldonado is the Quakers' leading scorer, averaging 15.1 points per game and shooting 52.4 percent from the field. · Defensively, Penn point guard Chelsea Hathaway and shooting guard Colleen Kelly are each averaging 2.0 steals per game. At this pace, both guards will finish the season with 52 thefts. Last season, Kelly led the Quakers in steals with 46. But in 1995-96, the Quakers got just 17 steals from the other guard slot. With Hathaway at the point and Kelly shifting to shooting guard, the Red and Blue have two solid ball-handlers on the court at all times. "Colleen plays an awesome role at the two," Hathaway said of her backcourt mate. "We always have someone else who can handle the ball in the backcourt." · Penn coach Julie Soriero did not turn to her bench until four minutes into the second half of Tuesday's Penn-Villanova game. When asked why she did not use her bench more, Penn coach Julie Soriero said, "I thought the kids who were in the game were playing especially tough defense." But the subs' 29.9 percent field-goal percentage may have also had an impact on Soriero's decision. All of the five Quakers starters are averaging 30-plus minutes per game (Kelly 35.8, Hathaway 35.6, Maldonado 35.5, Deana Lewis 34.5, Shelly Fogarty 30.3). Reserve guard Hope Smith is shooting an outstanding 87.5 percent from the line (7-for-8). Only sophomore guard Miranda Berge is shooting a higher percentage (2-2). But from the field, Smith is just 7-for-29 from the field (24.1 percent). Help should be on the way for the Quakers bench. Penn freshman Jen Houser made her debut for the Red and Blue during winter break. After missing the early part of the season with an injury, Houser has made an immediate impact off the bench. In just four games, Houser has become the Penn leader off the bench in field goals made (eight), free throws made (seven), offensive rebounds (six), points (23), and scoring average (5.8). 6-foot-2 center Karen Lewis has been up and down between the varsity and JV teams, and is still yet to see a minute of playing time. Although Lewis is awaiting the chance to block her first shot in basketball, she is not unfamiliar to blocks. This fall she ranked third on the Penn volleyball team in that same category. Center Deana Lewis currently leads the Quakers with three blocks through the first 12 games. · Penn has eight days off between Tuesday's 60-51 loss to Villanova and their next game, January 23, at home against Loyola (Md.) This is the second-longest break that the Quakers have this season. The longest spanned December 9 to December 21. After the layoff, the Red and Blue lost a heartbreaker to Temple, 72-69. With a win in any one of the next three games -- versus Loyola, Lafayette, or Columbia -- the Quakers would secure three wins for the month of January. This is a vast improvement from a year ago when Penn won just three games in a four-month season.
(01/15/97 10:00am)
The Quakers hung qith their Big East opponents well into second half before succumbing, 60-51. For the past 21 years, Penn has met Villanova in Big 5 play. Since 1975, the players and coaches have changed. Even the game site has swapped between Villanova's duPont Pavillion and the Palestra. But the one constant is Villanova has finished on top each time. Last season, the defending Big 5 champion Wildcats doubled Penn, 86-43 as Quakers star Natasha Rezek was held to just 13 points. Last night at the Palestra, however, the Quakers (4-8, 0-4 in Big Five) had a legitimate shot to end the Wildcats' (8-6 3-1 in Big Five) 21-year victory streak. At the ten-minute mark of the second half, Penn junior forward Michelle Maldonado drove to the basket and hit a layup, cutting the Wildcats lead to just one point, 40-39. But in the final ten minutes, 'Nova answered the calls of their screaming head coach, Harry Perretta. Six-foot-four sophomore Priscilla Rosenthal entered the game and altered several shots. And junior Jenn Beisel hit four consecutive jumpshots, as the Wildcats pulled away to a 60-51 triumph. "[Beisel] basically saved us," Perretta said. "We were trying to get her the ball. She was the only person who seemed confident." Even though Villanova pulled away from Penn in the final minutes of play, the story last night was the emergence of the Quakers. Last season's cellar dwellers have become contenders behind the emergence of Maldonado and the arrival of freshman point guard Chelsea Hathaway. Maldonado continued her stellar play on both ends of the floor last night, finishing with 14 points and 13 boards while playing the full 40 minutes. Maldonado also did the intangibles well, setting picks and screens for the guards, and holding Villanova forward Jenn Sliwa to just seven points -- eight below her season average. At point guard, Hathaway played a solid all-around game, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Since the start of the season, Hathaway has emerged as a leader on the court. Last night, she connected with Lewis and Maldonado on passes off the dribble. Earlier in the season, Hathaway would have tried to force the shot. "We are playing a little more comfortably as a team," Hathaway said. "Because I'm new, I think it took a while, but I'm really starting to get into the groove." Hathaway also was the player who pulled Maldonado out of her funk, calming the Quakers' leading scorer down after the officials assessed her a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. The foul was called with nine minutes and eight seconds to go in the second half when the Quakers were still within three. Junior guard Colleen Kelly also had a solid showing last night, finishing with 14 points and two treys. And both center Deana Lewis and small forward Shelly Fogarty played strong defense. "I think Penn is the most improved team I've seen from one year to the next in my 19 years of coaching," Perretta said. But Penn coach Julie Soriero was unable to incorporate her bench into the mix and fatigue set in late in the game. The Wildcats were 10 players deep each half. But Soriero stuck with her starters until the break. And in the second half, the subs played a total of eight minutes, and did not take a single shot. "I thought the kids who were in the game in the first half were doing a good job, especially defending," Soriero said. The Wildcats had eight players each seeing more than 15 minutes of court time. Freshman small forward Jenea Skeeters came off the bench and shot 6-of-12 from the field for 15 points. Five-foot-seven freshman point guard Lauren Pellicane added five points and five assists in a reserve role. And Rosenthal hit two foul shots and grabbed five boards for the Wildcats. Perretta's expanded bench not only allowed his starters some rest, but also gave him the chance to discuss set plays with his starters, without expending a timeout. But if it was not the lack of depth that did the Quakers in, it was their inept play on the offensive boards. Penn grabbed just five rebounds off their own glass. Villanova had 15. In fact, Beisel alone had six offensive rebounds. And the Wildcats outscored the Red and Blue on second chance points, 15-2. "We need to get a few more offensive boards," Sorriero said. "A put-back could change the whole game." Last night, Penn played a solid first 30 minutes against the Wildcats. But if they clean up a few quirks in their game, the Quakers will be ready to take it to the next level. "No team in the Ivies is as good as Villanova," Maldonado said. "But we have to do the little things. It's always something else. One night it was our foul shooting. Tonight, it was rebounding."
(12/09/96 10:00am)
When the Penn women's basketball season began, it looked as if center Deana Lewis would emerge as the Quakers' leading scorer. The 6-foot-1 co-captain averaged 7.3 points per game last season, more than any other returning Quaker. But four games into the new season, Lewis is averaging just 9.8 points per game. And as each game passes, the number of shots that Lewis is attempting continues to fall. Last Thursday at Lehigh's Stabler Arena, Lewis was held to just one point, on zero-for-three shooting from the field. She did not take a single shot from the field after halftime. "I didn't realize that I didn't take many shots," Lewis said. "I had the mentality that I was going to give the ball to the people that were shooting well." A big part of the reason that Lewis's scoring is below early-season expectations is that she is opting to set up plays for 5-foot-10 forward Michelle Maldonado rather than creating her own shot. Maldonado was a relatively unknown talent when the season began, after missing most of the 1995-96 season with a knee injury. But the junior has since developed into the go-to-person for the Quaker offense -- scoring 22 points against St. Francis and 20 against St. Joseph's. Maldonado then dominated Thursday's contest with the Engineers, scoring a career-high 31 points. "If we need a two pointer, we are going to go inside to Maldonado," coach Julie Soriero said. Soriero will count on another strong offensive contribution out of Maldonado tonight, when Penn takes on La Salle at the Palestra at 7 p.m. The Explorers are led by senior Chrissie Donahue. Last year, the 5-foot-11 power forward was named second team all-conference in the Atlantic 10, averaging 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Donahue also ranked in the top 15 in the Atlantic 10 in scoring, rebounding, assists, free throw percentage and steals. To start the game, Lewis will cover Donahue. Maldonado, who usually matches up against the opposing power forward, will guard La Salle center Margit Rinke -- a reserve last season with limited scoring ability. "I'm going to put Deana on her, and let Michelle work offensively," Soriero said. Soriero hopes that La Salle coach John Miller will follow her lead and match Donahue on Lewis on the other end of the floor. This would allow Maldonado to post up down low Rinke. But if Miller either puts Donahue on Maldonado, Soriero will need to rely on Lewis to take the ball to the hoop against the less-talented Rinke. If the Quakers hope to win, it is essential that Lewis reestablish her inside game, especially since only Maldonado and junior guard Colleen Kelly are consistently scoring in double figures. If Lewis's scoring output doesn't increase, Penn will have to look more toward the freshmen -- Chelsea Hathaway and Shelly Fogarty -- to produce. Hathaway scored 13 in the season opener against St. Francis, and Fogarty had 15 against Navy. But neither has scored consistently, as they are still learning the Quakers offense. Penn is not getting much offensive support from the bench either. Junior guard Hope Smith shot just one-for-six from the field in the Lehigh game. And senior co-captain Amy Tarr is more of a defensive specialist than an offensive weapon. If a couple of kids in our rotation, just one or two, had stepped up, we would have won [against Lehigh]", Soriero said. Tonight's game against La Salle will be an interesting test of whether Penn's role players can take some of the offensive pressures off of Maldonado and Kelly. It will also be a chance for Deana Lewis to reestablish her inside scoring game.
(12/06/96 10:00am)
Michelle Maldonado had 31 points and Colleen Kelly scored 24 in the Quakers overtime loss to the Mountain Hawks. It will be remembered as a game that the Penn women's basketball team let slip away. With the score knotted at 75 with just 16 seconds remaining, Penn guard Colleen Kelly dribbled the ball up the court. On a well-designed play, Kelly found forward Michelle Maldonado cutting off a screen. Maldonado looked for the shot, but the Lehigh defense hoarded around her. Instead of throwing up an off-balance jumper, Maldonado dished to wide-open guard Hope Smith, who had cut backdoor under the basket. Just before the buzzer sounded, Smith got her layup off. But the shot didn't fall, sending the game to overtime. In the five-minute overtime period, the Mountain Hawks pulled away behind freshman guard Danielle Baldwin's 7-for-7 free-throw shooting. The Quakers committed four turnovers in the overtime and fell to the Mountain Hawks, 88-83, at Stabler Arena. Although Penn would have squeaked away with a victory had Smith converted the layup, she is no more to blame for Penn's loss than any other member of the Quakers rotation. It looked as if Penn had the game in the bag at the half, leading 41-36 behind Maldonado's 17 first-half points. But the Quakers let it slip away after intermission. In the second half, Lehigh stepped up the press and the Quakers offense stumbled, committing 14 second-half turnovers. Penn point guard Chelsea Hathaway, who scored 10 points and held her Lehigh counterpart to two first-half points, did not take a single shot after the break. Hathaway also committed an ill-advised technical foul four minutes into the second half. Hawks guard Kelly Madden converted one out of the two free throws. Penn center and co-captain Deana Lewis was also a non-factor last night, scoring only a single point. After Lewis missed all three of her field-goal attempts in the opening minutes, she stopped shooting the ball. "She struggled early on," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "She has to realize that other teams are going to key on her. But she can't stop looking to shoot." In return, Maldonado was dished the ball a little more often from Lewis. "I know Deana got a little discouraged with her shot," Maldonado said. Lehigh tied the game at 75 with a 19-10 run in the final six minutes of the second half. During the run, four different Mountain Hawks scored. The Quakers, on the other hand, made the mistake of trying to play a two-person game. It was quite apparent that no Quaker other than Maldonado or Kelly wanted to shoot the ball. It seems that every game Maldonado is becoming an increasingly dominant force inside. Last night, the junior scored a career-high 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field and pulled down 17 rebounds. As impressive as her scoring statistics, Maldonado played 44 minutes last night, only sitting in the final minute of the first half when Soriero inserted sophomore Miranda Berge. Kelly was equally outstanding in her 35 minutes on the court. Offensively, Kelly scored 24 points, shooting 6-of-11 from behind the three-point stripe. On the defensive end, Kelly added three steals.
(12/04/96 10:00am)
St. Joseph's coach Stephanie Gaitley didn't appear happy with her team's first-half performance yesterday. Gaitley roamed the court in the half's closing seconds, screaming like the female counterpart to Bobby Knight. Her Hawks had won their 21 previous meetings against the Quakers. But the streak appeared in jeopardy at halftime, with St. Joe's clinging to a narrow 26-24 lead. "I was frustrated with our team's effort," Gaitley said. "We had to put more pressure on their guards." In the second half, the Hawks mix of full- and half-court presses made it difficult for Penn guards Chelsea Hathaway, Colleen Kelly and Hope Smith to set plays for forwards Michelle Maldonado and Deanna Lewis down low. Maldonado was called upon to step away from the paint to help the guards break the press. As a result, her second-half offensive contribution was reduced to two medium-range jumpers and a pair of foul shots. Without Maldonado posting up and crashing the boards, St. Joe's slowly began to pull away from Penn. And after Maldonado fouled out with just three minutes, 40 seconds left, a Megan Compain three-pointer put the finishing touches on the Hawks' 69-58 victory. In prior seasons, the Hawks defense had little problem stopping the Quakers offense by neutralizing Penn's all-Ivy center Natasha Rezek. Last night, however, St. Joseph's power forward Maureen Costello and 6-foot-4 center Jana Lichnerova were as clueless as Alicia Silverstone about how to stop the combination of Penn's two-person game on the low post. At the break, Maldonado had 14 of Penn's 24 first-half points, shooting six-for-eight from the field. Lewis added six points, hitting two jump hooks -- one lefty and one righty -- and added points two from the line. When the defense collapsed down low on the Maldonado and Lewis, the duo had the knack of finding Kelly wide open behind the three point stripe. "I think Penn uses different players and different looks [this season]," Gaitley said, "and that makes them more difficult to defend." Maldonado and Lewis were also the heart and soul of the Quakers' first-half defense, holding Costello and Lichnerova to a combined 3-for-14 first-half shooting. As a team, the Hawks shot just above 25 percent from the field in the first half. "One of the things that we did not let happen was letting St. Joseph's get on a huge run," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. While the Hawks never did go on one of their patented double-figure scoring run against Penn, they were able to slowly build a second-half lead on the shorter team. Down the stretch, it seemed as if every time Compain would drive to the hoop, she would knock over a Penn defender and manage to pick up a blocking foul. For Compain, the foul line truly was a charity stripe, as she cashed in for 11 points from the line on 12 tries. Compain also added 11 boards, seven of which were on the offensive end. Compain also added one of her two shots from behind the arc just after Maldonado fouled out. Even though Hathaway drilled a three for Penn on the other end, Compain's bomb proved to be the nail in the coffin. "I didn't shoot close to anywhere I could all night," Compain said. "I felt that if it went in, it was good, but if it didn't it was alright; we would get it back on defense." In the books, yesterday evening's meeting at the Palestra will go down as loss No. 22 in the long line of Penn defeats at the hands of their bigger and stronger Big 5 opponent. For the Quakers, however, holding the score to a single-digit loss against St. Joe's until the closing minutes only symbolizes how far Penn has come from their one-woman show that was demolished by the Hawks a year ago, 86-48. "The thing about our team this year is that no one expects one player to be the star," Maldonado said. "[Scoring] is balanced between Deana and I. All five spots on the court can score."
(12/04/96 10:00am)
Guard Garett Kreitz's 17 first-half points led the Quakers to a 21-point halftime lead over Towson State. Last night, the Penn men's basketball team restored a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the Palestra faithful that the Quakers will return to the NCAA tournament this March, defeating a more experienced Towson State squad, 80-72. Penn freshman guard Matt Langel brought the crowd to its feet as he swished his first shot from downtown to put the Quakers on the scoreboard. After Towson State center Ryan Lexer answered by converting a layup on the other end, a George Mboya jumper put the Quakers ahead once again by a 5-4 count. From that point on, Penn never again trailed. The Quakers built a 21-point first-half lead with impeccable shooting from beyond the arc by junior long-range bomber Garett Kreitz along with solid team defense. Half of the Quakers' 30 first-half shots came from beyond the arc, and a respectable seven found their way to the bottom of the net. "If Garett Kreitz is making [five] threes in the first half, I hope he can get that many off," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "That's what we do best. I'm not very creative, so I go with what we do best." But the Tigers fought their way back in the second half behind forward Derick Newton's strong shooting, timely offensive rebounds from 6-foot-6 forward Ralph Briggs and a little bit of their own three-point medicine. Towson State senior Florian Schneider's third score from downtown in the second half cut the Quakers' lead to a mere eight points with eight minutes remaining. And six minutes later, Newton cut the Quakers' lead to just three points, 73-70, after bucketing both ends of a one-and-one. The Tigers made a final effort to catch Penn by sending several Quakers to the foul line. And it took clutch foul shooting in the final two minutes of play by Kreitz, guard Michael Jordan and forward Paul Romanczuk to seal the victory. "I think our team defense wasn't as hard in the second half," Penn guard Jamie Lyren said. "We are going to have to put together two halves of defense to be successful." Although Penn's defense in the second half was not up to par, Quakers fans still appeared pleased by their team's effort in the season opener, especially by the play of the three-guard set. With three guards on the court, the Tigers struggled all evening to stop Penn's offense. In the first half, Kreitz kept on finding himself open from behind the arc and nailed five three-pointers for 17 first-half points. "They basically said to me that I'm open and I'm free to shoot it," Kreitz said. "Tonight was just one of those nights when I was feeling it." In the second half, the Tigers defense started putting hands in Kreitz's face. The junior guard, however, adjusted by throwing several cross-court passes to Lyren, who would drive to the basket and find the open Quaker, usually Mboya, Romanczuk or freshman center Geoff Owens. Dunphy also countered by inserting Jordan into the line-up and allowing him to drive to the hoop and draw fouls. The most impressive part of Penn's offense was its ability to move the ball, even though Kreitz and Romanczuk were the only players in the Red and Blue lineup that have seen real game minutes together on the floor in the past. Lyren led the way for Penn in the assist category with eight, several of which came on Princeton-esque backdoor screen passes to Mboya. Freshman Matt Langel also added seven points and five assists, showing that not only can he spot up from behind the arc, but he can also put the ball on the floor. At times in the second half, it looked as if the freshman would sooner defer to Mboya and Kreitz than put up the shot himself. Another positive for Penn was the play of their Owens, who added nine points in just 12 minutes, mostly by posting up on the shorter Lexer. Owens's strong play was especially important for Penn, which was forced to played without forward Frank Brown who is still recovering from knee surgery. The big question still on the minds of Penn basketball aficionados is which is the real Penn Quakers team -- the one that shot the lights out en route to a 21-point lead at the half,or the one whose defense was so suspect that it almost managed to let a 21-point lead slip away. Saturday's game against Lehigh should give a better indication of whether or not Penn can step up the defense for a full 40 minutes, because the Engineers will not field as much competition as the Tigers did.
(11/26/96 10:00am)
Chelsea Hathaway, Penn's highly touted freshman, will lead the Quakers' offense at point guard against Navy today. One win doesn't make a season. But when the final buzzer sounded at the Palestra Friday night, the Penn woman's basketball team had reason for jubilation. The Quakers' narrow 73-67 victory over St. Francis -- the 1995-96 Northeast Conference champions -- gave Penn a 1-0 start to the new season. It also showed a sign of promise for the Red and Blue, who struggled mightily last season -- finishing a meager 3-23. Penn will try to build on its season-opening victory tonight, when they face the always-intense Navy Admirals on the Midshipmen's home court, Alumni Hall. "Its a new season and we are a new team," Penn co-captain Deana Lewis said. "Whenever we start a new season, things always look better." The arrival of freshman point guard Chelsea Hathaway changes the Quakers' outlook on the 1996 campaign. Hathaway averaged 12 points, eight boards, and four assists per game last season at Christ the King High School in Forest Hills, New York -- the No.2 ranked high school team in the country. Hathaway's had little trouble penetrating the Red Flash defense on Friday. And at 5-foot-9, Hathaway has also showed the knack to grab rebounds on both the offensive and defensive boards. "Chelsea's a competitor," Penn coach Julie Soriero said. "She is used to playing teams that want to beat her. She is used to playing 40 minutes. She understands the game, she loves the game, and she loves to compete." Hathaway's arrival allows the junior, Colleen Kelly, to return to her natural position of shooting guard. Kelly has a sweet touch from long range, but last year she rarely was able to spot up from behind the arc as she was asked to penetrate and try to break down opposing defenses. Against St. Francis, Kelly knocked down four three-point shots, accounting for 12 of her 14 points. Last season, she was limited to just under one and a half treys per game. "Colleen did a great job for us last year when we moved her to the point," Soriero said. "But she's a lot more comfortable at the two guard." If Hathaway and Kelly continue to shoot a high percentage from the outside, opponents will lose the luxury of being able to double-team power forward Michelle Maldonado and center Deana Lewis on the low post. Maldonado scored a career-high 22 points on Friday, excelling in the one-on-one game. Lewis has also shown the ability to knock down her shots when posting up against only a single defender. "We have people who can hit from the outside, and opponents have to worry about the inside game," Lewis said. "Its going to be tough for teams to double down and get back on defense." If Penn is able to maintain its multi-facet attack throughout the season, the Quakers will be a stronger team than they were a year ago, when their offense revolved around giving the ball to then-senior Natasha Rezek on the low post nearly each time down court. This task will not be as easy as it sounds, however, for the Quakers. Hathaway passed her first test last Friday against the Red Flash, but it is almost unfair to expect a consistent contribution out of any freshman -- even if she was an Honorable Mention All-American. In order for the Quakers to win, Hathaway will need to contribute on a nightly basis. If she struggles, Kelly will be forced to return to the point, and the versatility of an inside-outside game evaporates. Hathaway, however, is convinced that she is ready to step up to the challenge. "I played for a pretty big national program," Hathaway said. "So, it hasn't been a terrible transition for me."
(11/19/96 10:00am)
Guards Michael Jordan and Matt Langel and center Geoff Owens will all be in coach Fran Dunphy's rotation. In recent seasons, the Fran Dunphy offense has been led by three types of players -- the penetrator, the long-range bomber and the inside presence. Those roles were filled to perfection by Jerome Allen, Matt Maloney and Shawn Trice from the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, when Penn earned consecutive NCAA bids. Last season, seniors Ira Bowman, Donald Moxley and Tim Krug took over the respective roles. The trio's combination of driving to the hoop, three-point shooting and tough offensive rebounding allowed the Quakers to recapture a share of the Ivy League title. Therefore, it should have come as no surprise that when Dunphy recruited the Class of 2000, he kept with tradition and brought the Quakers a penetrating guard, an accomplished outside shooter and a tall frontcourt presence -- namely Michael Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens. Leading Penn's recruiting class is the penetrator, Michael Jordan -- a six-foot local product from Abington Friends School -- whose ballhandling skills and quickness will allow him to contribute immediately at the point. Jordan's ability to drive to the basket made him not only Penn's No. 1 recruit, but also put him high on former head coach John Calipari's wish list at Massachusetts. "I wanted to stay in the city," Jordan said. "And Penn has the reputation for academics and Division I basketball. It seemed like the perfect fit for me." Like his namesake, Jordan wears No. 23 and more often than not enjoys the attention that comes along with sharing his name with the greatest basketball player of all-time. "My first year of high school I wore No. 13," Jordan said. "But sophomore year, the guys told me that I should wear 23, and ever since it's been my number." Jordan led Abington Friends to four consecutive league championships, averaging 19.6 points, six rebounds and seven assists per game. Last year, Jordan was named to the all-Pennsylvania, ending his high school career with a bang by recording his first career triple-double in Abington Friends's league championship victory. "In high school, I was quicker than a lot of my opponents," he said. "I guess that I just had more desire." For Jordan to continue his domination on the collegiate level, however, he will have to work on his inconsistent jump shot from medium range. Jordan will also need to adjust to Dunphy's style of play, which requires the point guard to be a vocal leader on the court and help out with the double-team on defense. While Jordan will see playing time at the guard position alongside senior Jamie Lyren, another freshman -- Matt Langel -- also figures to be in the backcourt mix. Langel, a 6-foot-5 guard from Moorestown, N.J., will provide instant offense with his consistent outside shot. At Moorestown High School, Langel averaged 23 points per game, showing ability to shoot both the medium-range jumper and from beyond the arc with consistency. "I like to think of myself as a good shooter and someone who makes my teammates better," Langel said. Besides a smooth outside touch, Langel also brings another adept ballhandler to the Penn lineup. Although Dunphy plans to use Langel primarily at the two and three spots, Langel is not unfamiliar to ballhandling duties, having played point guard all four years in high school. If Dunphy had not scouted Langel, the scoring guard would have likely landed in the backcourt at archrival Princeton -- the only other school he seriously considered. Langel, however, ultimately decided to attend Penn because of its strong mix of academics and basketball tradition. "Either Penn or Princeton is going to win it," Langel said. "But Penn seemed like the better program for me. There is great history and a winning tradition." The third freshman who will figure in the rotation this season is 6-foot-11 center, Geoff Owens. Defensively, Owens promises to be a shot-blocking force in the middle, though, offensively, he does not yet have the dominant inside game needed to play the traditional center role. "We've never really had that luxury of a center that is locked inside," Dunphy said. "These guys all want to step away from the basket." And Owens is no exception. At Bishop Eustace High School in Audubon, N.J., Owens averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game and surprised many an opposing center by stepping back behind the arc to drain a three-pointer. Not only will he be expected to replace Krug's inside presence, but he should also provide the Palestra faithful with the thunderous slams and energizing rejections that were a staple of Krug's play. But it will be a tough adjustment for Owens to go from playing against high school centers that were, on average, five inches shorter than him to competing against the taller collegiate pivot players. "I'm going to have to go out and play my game," Owens said. "I am not going to get intimidated by the fact that that is [Villanova center] Jason Lawson. My personal goal is just to achieve as much as I can in the minutes I get." Owens was also recruited by Penn State, Navy, Rider and Vermont. Owens chose Penn, however, after an enjoyable visit to the school where he met with the players and Dunphy. "I really like [Dunphy] so far," Owens said. "He's tough on you, but he's knowledgeable. If he tells you to do something, you know that it is probably the right way." Jordan, Langel and Owens have already earned themselves spots in Penn's eight-to-nine-man rotation. Each of the three will likely see 20 to 25 minutes per game. If swingman Frank Brown is not ready for the December 3 season opener, however, Dunphy may ask Jordan and Langel to play even more minutes. Also joining the Quakers this season is Mike Koller, a 6-foot-5 guard from Greybull, Wyo., who averaged 20 points and six rebounds per game in high school. Penn basketball is in Koller's blood. His father John played for the Quakers from 1966-71. When Lyren graduates, Koller may be able to work his way into the guard rotation. Dunphy, however, is not counting on him to make an immediate impact. "What Mike gives us will be icing on the cake," Dunphy said. It is the maturity of the big three -- Jordan, Langel, and Owens -- that will be essential if Penn is to return to the NCAA tournament this season.
(11/18/96 10:00am)
Penn falls to No. 3 Brown in the first round before being eliminated by Princeton in the second round of the losers bracket. It was a cruel twist of fate. On October 23, the Penn volleyball team fell to Princeton in four games ( 15-8 11-15, 2-15 12-15) at Jadwin Gymnasium. Unpleased with the result, the Quakers returned to the Palestra, vowing to increase their effort and start anew. And for the season's final eight games, the Red and Blue were undefeated -- a perfect 8-0. After a Penn first-round loss in Ithaca on Friday to No. 3 Brown and a 3-game sweep of Columbia in the first round of the loser's bracket of the Ivy Championship Tournament, Penn was to face the Tigers in the second round of the loser's bracket. The match marked Penn's first meeting with rival Princeton since their October 23 defeat. Under the Ivy League's double elimination format, the winner of the match would get to advance to the next round of the loser's bracket, while the loser of the match becomes officially eliminated from the tournament. "Having set our goals to become a different team, I think that we are ready and I think that we can win," Penn setter Heather Tillett said on Wednesday. In the opening game, Penn battled back-and-forth with the 2-time defending Ivy League champs. Tillett distributed the ball evenly between Jen Law and Karen Lewis on the middle block and Jessica Luftman and Karen Kinsherf on the outside. Sophomore Megan McKay aided Luftman on serve-receptions, and Princeton outside hitters were held in check. From the opening serve of the match, the Quakers offense showed the cohesiveness that was missing during their earlier meeting with the Tigers. Princeton, however, responded with nearly error-free play. Melissa Ford -- the Ivy's assist per game leader -- had the luxury of finding all five of her targets on the top of their games. The Tigers starting six played the entire match, committing a mere 5 errors compared to Penn's 17. The Quakers kept each game close with strong defensive play. Law lead the way in digs, recording 11 of the team's 49. McKay added 10, Kinsherf 9, and Luftman 8. In each game, however, it was the flawless Tiger play prevailed in the end, as Princeton defeated Penn (15-12, 15-11, 15-12). "When we play well, I think that we are even better than last season," Princeton coach Glenn Nelson said on Thursday. Penn's month-long momentum was halted on Friday when they fell in the first-round of the tourney to No.3 Brown, 15-3, 15-5, 20-18. The Quakers' blockers were unable to stop the Bears potent offensive attack, as Brown setter Christy Mumm took advantage of having three offensive stars beside her in Kathryn Rice, Tomo Nakanishi and Leyla Goldsmith. The loss to Brown, however, was not a result of poor play on the part of the Quakers. The Red and Blue played tough defense, especially in the match's finale, a 20-18 war of a game. Offensively, sophomore Jackie Morris stepped off the bench with 9 kills in what was likely was the most gutsy performance of her 2-year career. Brown's victory over Penn was the Bears' first en route to becoming Ivy league Champs. After Brown's victory, the Bears rolled over host Cornell, who upset No. 2 seed Yale to advance.Brown then edged Kate Nash and Harvard 3-2 in the third round. In the finals, Brown again faced the Crimson, who defeated Yale to advance from the loser's bracket. This time the trio of Rice, Goldsmith, and Nakanishi convincingly pounded Harvard, securing the Bears their first Ivy league title in eight years. This weekend's tournament was the final chance at a collegiate championship for Penn seniors, Kinsherf and Law. Despite a midseason rededication to playing a winning brand of volleyball, the Quakers were nonetheless unable to prevail against either Princeton -- the 2-time repeating champions, or Brown -- the team that this weekend dethroned the Tigers. Still, the midseason change of attitude was not for naught. The Quaker's impressive 8-game winning streak was a classy end to a well-fought season. And even though the Quakers lost twice this weekend at Ithaca, at least Penn can honestly say that they gave winning their best shot.
(11/15/96 10:00am)
Despite an eight-match winning streak, Penn received a sixth seed in the Ivy Tournament at Cornell. It is not often that a No. 6 seed wins the Ivy League volleyball championship. But don't try telling that to Penn. The Quakers arrived in Ithaca, N.Y., yesterday riding high on an eight-game winning streak. After a discouraging midseason loss to Princeton at Jadwin Gymnasium, the Quakers -- with a 10-8 record at that point -- held a closed-door players-only meeting to discuss their frequent mental lapses on the court. "We were out there to have fun, but it wasn't fun to lose," Penn outside hitter K.C. Potter said in October. "We had to change something." Almost immediately after the loss to the Tigers, Penn began turning things around. With a nine-game sweep to win the Marist Invitational that weekend, the Quakers began to show signs of momentum. The next Friday, Penn returned to the Palestra and won a five-game nail-biter from Cornell. And that Saturday, behind a roaring homecoming crowd, Penn conquered Columbia in four games -- as sophomore middle blocker Sue Sabatino recorded a career-best 26 kills. Last weekend, the Quakers defeated Army, Navy and Hofstra to end the regular season at 18-8 mark. It will take Penn just four more wins added to its streak to garner this year's Ivy League title -- an achievement that has alluded Penn since coach Margaret Feeney's first season in 1989. "Winning four additional straight matches will be very challenging under the circumstances," Penn co-captain Jessica Luftman said. "Every team elevates their play during the tournament." Penn finished the regular season in a three-way tie with Harvard and Dartmouth at 4-3. And although the Quakers lost both tie-breakers, demoting them to the No. 6 seed, the Quakers have the luxury of being on the opposite side of the bracket from Princeton. "I think that it will lead to our advantage not to meet Princeton until we get a few rounds in, " Luftman said. "Playing Princeton is sometimes a mental game." In the first round, the Quakers face the No. 3 seeded Brown Bears, who are lead by freshman outside hitter Kathryn Rice and one of the league's premier blockers in Leyla Goldsmith. During the opening week of the Ivy League season, the Bears convincingly defeated the Quakers, 15-9, 15-2, 15-3, at the Palestra. "The first match against Brown was one of the ugliest matches that I witnessed in my seven years," Feeney said. "The two areas that we did not perform well in the first time we played Brown was serve reception and blocking." The Quakers are convinced, however, that they have since corrected the defensive flaws that made them vulnerable to the Bears attack. Since midseason, Luftman has been as consistent as any outside hitter in the Ivy League with serve receptions. Middle blockers Sue Sabatino, Jen Law and Kate Lewis have similarly stepped up their play since the opening-week los. "We are planning on blocking them much better than we did in the first match," Quakers setter Heather Tillett said. "Their tendency is to hit cross-court. If we can cut that off, they are done after that." A strong performance from Sabatino -- who averages a third more blocks per game (1.46) than any other player in the Ivy League -- is key for Penn. If the Quakers can stop Brown, they will play a second match this evening against the winner of No. 2 Yale and host Cornell, two teams that Penn has already beaten this season. If Penn loses, however, it will wait until tomorrow to face the loser of Princeton-Columbia, which in all likelihood will be the 0-7 Lions. As in recent years, No. 1 seed Princeton enters the Ivy League tournament as the favorite. But unlike past seasons, this year's tournament is not all about playing for second place. Penn has run eight straight and seems prepared for redemption against the Tigers. Princeton, however, may not even be around if the Quakers advance to the finals. Harvard and Dartmouth beat the Tigers during the regular season. Yale and Brown played them tough. Cornell has the home-court advantage in its favor. An Ivy League championship will be just as sweet for the Quakers even if they do not rematch Princeton. "We just want to win the Ivy League tournament. We always want to beat Princeton because we have a huge rivalry with them," Tillett said. "We hate Princeton, but if we win we will be just as happy, no matter who we play."
(11/04/96 10:00am)
In four games against Columbia, middle blockerIn four games against Columbia, middle blockerSue Sabatio had a Player-of-the-Week outing. Penn sophomore middle blocker Sue Sabatino has all but locked up Ivy League Player of the Week with her stellar performance Saturday afternoon at the Palestra. Throughout the homecoming weekend match against Columbia, Sabatino made the Palestra's public address announcer sound like a broken record. "Slam by Sabatino, point Pennsylvania," was the common call of the night. The message repeated consistently -- 26 times to be exact in the Quakers' 9-15, 15-5, 15-4, 15-7 romping of the Lions. "Last time that I can remember that many kills by one player in one match -- most immediately I'd have to think back to [1992 Penn graduates] Kate Cooley or Devon Austin," Quakers coach Margaret Feeney said. Sabatino not only cracked the 25-kill barrier -- in just four games -- but she also brought new life to Penn, which lost the match's opening game to the winless Lions. In the opening game, Columbia middle blockers Laura Alexander and Dorothy Katz stalked Penn's side hitters. The Lions held right-side hitter Abby Daniels -- who led Penn with 21 kills in the Quakers' 6-15, 6-15, 15-10, 15-12, 16-14 victory over Cornell on Friday night -- to less kills (two) than errors (three). And by the opening game's conclusion, it became obvious to Penn setter Heather Tillett that passing consistently to Sabatino would be Penn's best shot to hit past the Lions' strategically arranged middle blockers. "After each game, I look at the game for the hitters," Tillett said. "The middle is always the attack you want to use because it's the quickest attack. If the middle hits past the block, it's an easy point." In game two, Tillett began to mold the offense around Sabatino in the middle. With only a single blocker following her, Sabatino put away point-after-point, and Columbia slowly transformed itself back into the level of play that is indicative of an 0-7 team. By game three, Sabatino was on pace for over 30 kills. A perplexed Lions block began to overcompensate, and Tillett decided to change gears and start setting to the outside hitters, junior Jessica Luftman and freshman K.C. Potter, whose kill attempts had clear paths to the floor. And when all three offensive threats were accounted for, Tillett would look to Karen Lewis -- Penn's 6-foot-2 tower of a middle blocker -- to find wood. "I tried to mix it up because we want to keep the blockers guessing," Tillett said. "If you keep it going, then you can go back to running the middle." A strong scouting report kept the Lions competitive in the early going, despite a significant disadvantage in talent. Columbia's offense knew to serve the ball away from Penn's primary serve receiver, Jessica Luftman. The Lions tried to force Potter to make unforced errors. And Columbia made Tillett look to her middle blockers for kills. When Sabatino began to step up, however, it seemed that the entire Columbia game plan self-destructed. Early in game two, the Lions' Angela Howard served into the net because she placed too much emphasis on angling her serve away from Luftman. Columbia's Summer Ornelas fell into the same trap in game three. "I think that a prime part of their scouting was don't serve to Jess Luftman, and it caused them to make unforced errors," Feeney said. Digs were well-distributed among the Quakers starters, since Lions serves were all to the side opposite Luftman. Potter led the way with 13 digs. Luftman still managed 12, and sophomore Megan McKay and Tillett chipped in with 11 digs a piece. Sabatino added eight blocks, three more than the entire Columbia team. "After last night, I thought I played a little flat," Sabatino said. "So, I thought that I'd come out today and just play my game. I guess me and 'T' [Heather Tillett] connected today." With the weekend sweep of Cornell and Columbia, Penn now stands at 4-3 in the Ivy League and 13-8 overall. "The Ivy League is so chaotic this year, we really don't know where we are going to stand," Penn co-captain Karen Kinsherf said. "It's going to be competitive. We just have to see how everyone comes out to play." This weekend, there was no doubt that Sabatino and the Quakers came to play.
(11/01/96 10:00am)
Quakers can earn themselvesQuakers can earn themselvesa high Ivy TournmentQuakers can earn themselvesa high Ivy Tournmentranking this weekend. Ranked No. 18 in the nation in service aces, but holding a losing record in the Ivy League, the Penn volleyball team is relying on a home weekend sweep of Cornell and Columbia to earn a high seeding in the November 15 Ivy League Tournament in Ithaca, N.Y. Although the Quakers (13-8, 2-3 Ivy League have been plagued by season-long inconsistency, a weekend sweep is feasible, since Penn's opponents comprise the Ivy basement, combining for just one conference win between them. Penn has shown improved play as of late, sweeping all nine games in last weekend's Marist Invitational, including a victory over Navy, a team that had beaten the Quakers earlier in the season. "We have improved a lot of aspects of our game," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. This weekend will be the first time all season that experience at the setter position will weigh in favor of -- rather than against -- the Quakers. A large part of the Big Red's offensive futility this season can be attributed to the starting of a freshman, Lisa Turner, at setter. And the Lions (0-5 in the conference), who are in far worse disarray than the Big Red (7-13, 1-4), have been thus far unable to get consistent contributions from any of their setters. "Being that the setter is basically the center of the offense. If you are inexperienced, it can cause a lot of incohesiveness," Penn setter Heather Tillett said. "A lot of the decision-making doesn't come from practice. It comes from actual game time experience." Tillett suffered growing pains herself in trying to make the transition from a full-time reserve into the center of Penn's offense. At this point in the season, however, Tillett has become one of the stronger setters in the Ivy League. "I would definitely consider her a veteran," Penn co-captain Jessica Luftman said. "Not just because of her playing this year, but her role on the team in the past. She is a motivator on the court." While Penn may not have dominating offensive hitters like Princeton or the consistent passing attack of Harvard, the Quakers do enter the weekend with the Ivy League's deepest arsenal. Abigail Daniels, the powerful sophomore outside hitter, returns to the starting lineup this weekend for Penn after missing last weekend with a shoulder injury. This will likely land freshman K.C. Potter -- who had 27 kills at the Marist Invite -- back on the bench. Look for Feeney, however, to call upon Potter and sophomore middle blocker Karen Lewis, to contribute in a reserve capacity. "At Harvard, Karen stepped in and was very important," Feeney said. "As a coach, I feel great that we have three great middle blockers and are very deep at the outside hitters." Sophomores Megan McKay and Katy Stock will also see action, spelling Sue Sabatino and Jen Law on defense. As always, there is great parody between the teams in the Ancient Eight. And while Cornell and Columbia are a combined 1-9 in the Ivies (the Big Red's only league win came against the Lions), if either match is overlooked, Penn could easily lose. "Records are not representative of a team's playing ability," Luftman said. Since Monday, the Quakers have been practicing for their final home weekend under the assumption that both matches will be tough, hard-fought battles." "We've been working on a lot of mental toughness -- problem situations that we have to solve ourselves," Tillett said. "So we find the problems and change them right away to avoid ups and downs." This practice technique should translate into improved communication on the court between the starting six and limit Feeney's need to waste her timeouts early in the match. Coming off last weekend's nine-game sweep, team confidence is at an all-time high. The Quakers now only hope that they will have a large homecoming crowd to route them on to victory. "I hope to see a large turnout because it is our last home Ivy League weekend this season," Luftman said.
(10/29/96 10:00am)
The Penn volleyball team neededThe Penn volleyball team neededonly nine total games to dispose ofThe Penn volleyball team neededonly nine total games to dispose ofWagner, Navy and Marist. It took the Penn volleyball team just nine games, three matches and two days worth of momentum to win the Marist Invitational, dominating Wagner, Navy and host Marist along the way. On Friday night, with Penn's attack leader Abby Daniels out nursing a sore shoulder, it was freshman K.C. Potter who stepped into the starting lineup and recorded 10 kills, leading the Quakers to a 15-13, 15-6, 15-3 sweep of the Wagner Seahawks. On Saturday afternoon, Navy posed little more of a challenge, as Potter again sparked Penn to victory with 13 digs and 10 kills. Penn co-captains Karen Kinsherf and Jessica Luftman chipped in with 11 digs each as the Quakers avenged an early-season loss to the Midshipmen with a 15-4, 15-8, 15-12 sweep. In the Marist Invitational championship match on Saturday evening, it was sophomore Sue Sabatino's seven blocks that propelled Penn to a 15-8, 15-11, 15-10 win over host Red Foxes. The Quakers swept despite the roaring crowd of Marist parents, who spent their family weekend rooting on hosts. "We came in there and played with confidence," Potter said. While the nine-game weekend sweep was characterized by stellar team play and a timely contribution from Potter, Penn coach Margaret Feeney credited Luftman as the weekend's most valuable player. "Jessica did an outstanding job," Feeney said. "She is our primary serve receiver. She was the key to our success this weekend." Luftman adds more to the Quakers than just strong on-the-court-play. It was the intangibles that she provides to the team, such as work ethic and off-the-court demeanor, that may have done more to merit Feeney's praise than just her 38 digs and 25 kills. Wednesday's inexplicable loss to rival Princeton could have been the dagger in the hearts of the Quakers if it had not been for the leadership of Luftman and Kinsherf. "Everyone was pretty down," Potter said. "We wanted to start new after that. We were out there to have fun, but it wasn't fun to lose. We had to change something." Luftman and Kinsherf called for a team meeting on Thursday after practice to focus the team on the future. "We discussed our weaknesses within the team and what we need to work on together independently of the coaching staff," Luftman said. Some of the credit for Penn's weekend success, however, must be attributed to Feeney. For the second consecutive season, the coach rallied her troops to a weekend sweep after a loss to Princeton. Last season, it was Buffalo, Niagara and Canisius that fell victim to a rejuvenated Quakers offense. This time it was the Seahawks, Midshipmen and Red Foxes that chose the wrong weekend to cross Penn's path. Feeney stimulated the offense by reinserting Jen Law into the starting lineup at middle blocker for the first time this season. Law responded with 22 kills in nine games. And while no win this weekend could have been as satisfying as defeating the Tigers, sinking Navy in three straight games was nonetheless a thrill for Penn. "The Navy match was kind of a revenge factor," Feeney said. Ironically, it was Katy Stock -- who was unable to dig Navy's final point in the Penn Invitational -- who stepped off the bench as a key defensive specialist against the Midshipmen with six digs in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. While Navy setter Nikki St. Clair dominated the first go-around with 45 assists in 46 sets, this time Penn setter Heather Tillett had the upper-hand, connecting on 29 sets and adding six kills. "I think we had a more competitive attitude as a whole," Luftman said. "Winning became more of a priority." This weekend's Marist Invitational provided solid representation of the Quakers' resilience and improvement. And while Penn still feels the pain from Wednesday night's loss in Princeton, Penn can now only look ahead. "People are very satisfied with our performance this weekend," Luftman said. "We are not going to dwell on the past."
(10/07/96 9:00am)
After losing first match to Navy, Penn rallies to beat Lafayette, VCU There were two roads the Penn volleyball team could have taken to finish in a three-way tie for first place at this weekend's Penn Invitational. The easy road would have been to defeat Navy on Friday and win just one out of two against Lafayette and Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday. But after faltering late in the match against the Midshipmen, the Quakers were forced to take the tougher road -- which meant victories over the Leopards and Rams on Saturday. On Friday evening, it appeared as if Navy was going to just hand Penn a victory as the Midshipmen's star outside hitter, Jen Williams, went down late in the third game with a sprained knee. But Penn missed several chances to close out Navy and exited the Palestra on Friday night with a disappointing 0-1 record in the tournament. After splitting the first four games, Penn took a 10-9 lead in the fifth behind six service points by outside hitter Katy Stock. The rarely used sophomore was inserted by Penn coach Margaret Feeney to take advantage of her powerful serves. But after a Midshipmen timeout, Navy stepped up its play another level, and the Quakers could not keep pace. When Stock was unable to dig a Rachel Shopra kill over the net, the Midshipmen rejoiced in a five-game victory over the Quakers (9-15, 15-12, 15-11, 5-15, 15-12). "It was not the opponents that beat us tonight," Penn co-captain Jessica Luftman said. "It was ourselves, and we have to work on that." Penn's versatile front-line attack gave Navy fits all match. Four Quakers -- Sue Sabatino, Abby Daniels, Jessica Luftman and Karen Lewis -- finished the five-game match with double-figure kills. But the Midshipmen pulled away late in game five, behind Navy's Laura Tillinghast's three-point serving rally and setter Nikki St. Clair's picturesque control of the offense. "We are a very mentally disciplined team -- much more so than any civilian college," Tillinghast said. "After a loss like [game four], we just put it out of our minds." On Saturday morning -- after a Navy loss to VCU -- the Quakers returned to the Palestra and showed Tillinghast that their 'civilian college' did indeed have the toughness to rebound from a loss and grab a share of the Penn Invite title. Penn won its early match against Lafayette (15-10, 15-7, 15-7) behind Abby Daniels's 12 kills and an astounding team-kill percentage of .209. Feeney worked 13 of the 16 Quakers into the lineup against the Leopards and got unexpected contributions from sophomores Jackie Morris, who was five of six on kill attempts, and Sue Pojednic, who was all-over the court on offense. "We had the big Mo," Luftman said. The victory set the stage for a 6 p.m. showdown against the Rams, which proved to be the Quakers' most impressive performance of the season. Needing a victory to earn a piece of the Invite title, Penn struggled, but won the opener, 15-13. In the final two games, however, the Quakers were as perfect as Heather Tillett's 24-for-24 set percentage. The Quakers battered the Rams, 15-5 and 15-3, with perfect execution and a mental toughness not exhibited against Navy. Daniels led the way for Penn with 11 kills. But it may have been the thunderous force behind Sabatino's six kills that took the hearts out of the Rams. And Jen Law showed signs of returning to her 1995 all-Ivy form, coming off the bench to chip in with nine kills. The defense was equally solid -- a cohesive unit anchored by defensive specialist Meghan McKay's 10 digs. It was rare that the Rams even blocked the ball to the back line because Law, Sabatino and Karen Kinsherf repeatedly blocked weak Virginia Commonwealth shots back over the net. In the end, maybe Friday's loss was good for Penn, even though the facial expressions of the team members showed clear disappointment in the performance. The Quakers were forced to take the more difficult road to victory, and it made them tougher as a team.
(10/04/96 9:00am)
Quakers' depth will be aQuakers' depth will be afactor as they play fourQuakers' depth will be afactor as they play fourgames in three days When Penn's starting six proved unable to stage a consistent offensive attack at the Drexel Invitational last weekend, Quakers coach Margaret Feeney turned to her bench for reserve middle-blockers Jen Law and K.C. Potter to ignite a spark to earn a final-game victory over Lehigh. Law and Potter lit that spark on the court, killing a combined 20 Heather Tillett sets and leading the charge in a 3-1 win over the perplexed Mountain Hawks. This season, the senior, Law, and the frosh, Potter, are proving that "bench player" is not synonymous with "inferior." With the four-team Penn Invitational taking place today and tomorrow at the Palestra and with another match for the Quakers against Canisius on Sunday, Law and Potter will again be called upon to produce at middle blocker. "I think there is a pressure coming off the bench," Potter said, "because you are being put in to spark some new energy and create something different out on the court." Adjusting to reserve roles is a new experience for both Law nor Potter, who are both accustomed to being on the court for the first serve of the match. Jen Law -- the strong six-footer from Canada -- was an honorable mention all-Ivy selection last season starting at middle-blocker alongside now-sophomore Karen Lewis. But when Law elected to take a leave of absence to handle other matters, sophomore Sue Sabatino burst onto the scene and earned Law's vacated spot. Since returning to the team, Law has been asked to spell both Lewis and Sabatino at middle blocker, and to unleash her deadly serve on the offensive end. Law -- who ranked sixth in the Ivies with 0.37 service-aces-per-game last season -- could potentially hook up with Sabatino and defensive specialist Megan McKay to form the Ivy League's most potent serving team. "Serving is the part of the game you have complete control over," Law said. Although Law continues to serve and block well coming off the bench, she hopes to crack the starting lineup before season's end. "I want to be a leader," Law said. "I'm definitely looking to play some defense aside from some offense. Its my last kick at the cat, and I'm going to give it everything I've got." Unlike Law, who is on her final season of collegiate play, Potter, a 5-foot-11 freshman, is first breaking onto the Penn volleyball scene. Considering that Potter did not make her high school varsity team, which advanced to the California state semifinals, until her junior year, she is -- for now -- more than content being fourth on the depth chart at middle blocker. "It was really nice to come onto a team not expecting to play too much freshman year and be able to have an impact," Potter said. And while Potter feared that freshman jitters would inhibit her play, it may have been just that same adrenaline rush that helped her propel Penn with 12 kills against Lehigh. "I guess I never really expected to play well," Potter said. "Margaret put me on the court, and I was trying to put out a lot of energy." With matches against Navy today and Lafayette and Virginia Commonwealth tomorrow, followed by a single match against the Golden Griffins on Sunday, Feeney will need to rest many of her starters over the course of the weekend -- which means Law and Potter should see plenty of action. "With four matches, we will continue to use our strengths, which is different people at different times," Feeney said. Law and Potter know that this weekend they will again get a chance to contribute. "It's not fun sitting on the bench," Law said. "But everyone realizes that there are 16 players, and the court only fits six. Being a starter isn't as easy as it seems. Once you get it, you have to keep the position. But until you have it, you have nothing to lose."
(09/27/96 9:00am)
Sabatino, DanielsSabatino, Danielslook to 'kill' Wildcats Last season, the Penn volleyball team was riding high on an 8-2 streak when it ran into a brick wall at the duPont Pavilion. Villanova disposed of the Quakers in three straight games (15-8, 15-6, 15-4) -- a match that began Penn on a 1-4 tailspin. The Quakers (4-1) will have their chance for redemption against the Wildcats (5-4) at Drexel's Physical Education Athletic Center tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. in what is expected to be the marquis match of the Drexel Invitational. This is not the same Penn team, however, that was thrashed by the Wildcats a year ago. Penn's graduated all-Ivy setter, Heather Glick, who was held to a mere 10 assists by the Wildcats, has been replaced by junior Heather Tillett. And on the front line, sophomores Sue Sabatino and Abby Daniels have emerged into two of the Ivy League's most potent players. Sabatino --the Quaker's 6-foot-1 middle blocker -- has gone from a substitute a year ago to become Penn's leader in kills with 51 through five games. Even more impressive than Sabatino's kills thus far has been her unexpected domination as a server. "Sue has done a wonderful job," Penn coach Margaret Feeney said. "Last year, she played a reserve role. Now, she is fourth in the country in service aces and playing all the way around, offensively and defensively." Not only does Sabatino lead the Quakers in kills, but she is also among the team leaders in blocks. "Personally, I don't expect anything special," Sabatino said. "I just always play on the same level and whatever comes comes." Like Sabatino, Daniels has also made significant progress from last season. Although Daniels led Penn with 693 attacks and 236 kills as a freshman, the 5-foot-11 outside hitter was plagued by inconsistency. This season, Daniels has been an absolute force at the outside hitter spot. Daniels's 46 kills ranks second behind Sabatino and put her on pace to finish the season close to the 250 mark. "[Abby] has done a real nice job," Feeney said. "She works extremely hard in practice and has worked on her communication since last season. We want to see her continue to become more consistent." Last Friday, Sabatino and Daniels combined for 32 kills against a Towson State team that defeated Big East-leading Rutgers. If the Quakers are too avenge last season's loss to 'Nova tomorrow, they will need Sabatino and Daniels to continue killing Tillett's sets at their current pace.
