A record-breaking win for W. Hoops

EASTON, Pa. -- On a day in which history was being made in Washington, D.C., the Penn women's basketball team was also inaugurated into the history books in Easton, Pa. Entering Saturday's game with a seven-game winning streak against a team with a seven-game losing streak, the Quakers (9-5) headed to Lafayette in search of a program-record eighth consecutive victory. A 62-52 drubbing of the Leopards (4-13) accomplished just that. "It shows what respect our basketball team deserves," sophomore guard Jennifer Jones said of the record winning streak. To get the record-breaking victory, Penn used a balanced attack that overwhelmed the efforts of Lafayette star center Jessica Bayer. The 6' 1" sophomore shot a career high 10-for-11 from the field and equaled her career best with 23 points. But Saturday afternoon's game at the Kirby Sports Center proved that a single player does not make a team. Bayer may have been firing on all cylinders, but only one of her teammates could manage more than six points on Saturday. "I think we are coming together defensively," Penn coach Kelly Greenberg said. "When we come out and stick to our game plan, we know the other team, we play smart -- our defense is what does it." The game began as a shootout, with Penn hitting 7 of its first 11 shots, and Lafayette converting on 10 of its first 14. Things cooled off for both teams, but much more so for the Leopards, who could hit only 4 of their next 17 after their opening barrage. Lafayette's poor offensive play, particularly in the second half, was due in large part to Penn freshman guard Jewel Clark, who made two instrumental steals in the closing minutes of the game. But the Quakers' coaching staff might deserve an assist on Clark's steals. "In practice, the coaches went over some of the things that Lafayette might do, so we were prepared for that," she said. "And when they did run a play that we had practiced, it ran just like how we'd done it." Point guard Tara Twomey also played some spirited defense. She sacrificed her body to draw charges in a couple of instances and forced multiple turnovers. In all, Lafayette was guilty of a staggering 24 turnovers on Saturday. "I think that starts with our point guard, Tara Twomey, who is so underrated," Greenberg said. "She does all the little things." After the first few minutes of this game, when the two teams could no longer maintain their 70-percent shooting, it seemed that Penn might cruise to its record-breaking victory without much of a problem. The Quakers held a 34-24 advantage at the break, and the lead ballooned to 14 points in the early stages of the second half. But a timeout revitalized the Leopards, as they chipped away at the deficit until they had clawed back to within two, 48-46, with seven minutes remaining. Senior co-captain Diana Caramanico took back control of the game for the Quakers, though, as she scored Penn's next eight points. And when fellow senior co-captain Erin Ladley drained a three-pointer with 2:38 to go to make it 59-52, the game was essentially over. "I guess that timeout they called really stopped our momentum, and in the future we have to make sure that doesn't happen," Caramanico said. "But we stuck together, and we played good defense, so we pulled it out in the end." The Red and Blue never trailed in the game, and concluded their road trip with a perfect 6-0 mark. Greenberg is proud of her team for not having any letdowns in this difficult portion of the schedule, and for treating each opponent with equal respect. "You can't say, 'Oh, well this team only had this record last year,'" she said. "So we treat every game like we're the New York Giants, and we want to get to the Super Bowl."

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