W. Hoops falls on Hawk Hill

The Penn women's basketball team (4-8, 0-4 Big 5) entered last night's game against St. Joseph's (8-6, 2-1 Big 5) with something to prove. Before last night's game, the Quakers were 0-3 in the Big 5 after winning only one game in the city series last season. The Hawks handed Penn a 70-60 loss at Alumni Fieldhouse. The loss was Penn's fourth in the Big 5 and eighth of the season. Besides ending a winless Big 5 season, the loss also continued Penn's struggles against St. Joe's. In the 28 times the two teams have met, Penn has never won. In last year's game, the Hawks routed Penn, 81-57, at the Palestra. Entering last night's matchup, the Quakers weren't thinking about the all-time series or their Big 5 record. They concentrated solely on improving as a team. "Our key going into this game was not putting too much pressure on getting the win," coach Kelly Greenberg said. "I feel lately, as a coach, that I have been doing that too much and not focusing on getting better as a team." The Quakers looked like a better team than in previous games at the conclusion of the first half, as they came to life in the final minutes off a steal by senior point guard Tara Twomey. Penn closed out the half on two free throws by junior forward Jewel Clark to give the Quakers a two-point edge at 30-28. Clark was Penn's leading scorer on the night with 23 points and nine rebounds, breaking the 20- point barrier for the the fifth time this season. The Quakers carried their momentum into the second half, as they jumped out to a quick 40-33 lead on an opening 10-5 run. Things were going well for the Quakers until Clark picked up her fourth foul only four minutes into the second half. Clark's untimely foul would prove to be Penn's undoing. "Certainly, Jewel Clark's fourth foul hurt us a lot," Greenberg said. "To be honest with you, her second and third fouls were bad calls." Beyond the poor officiating, Greenberg pointed out how important Clark is to Penn's success. "It really hurts us when Jewel comes out with four fouls that early," Greenberg said. "She was playing with energy. She was helping us on the boards, and she is our scorer. "I thought when she came out, St. Joe's picked up their defense, and we went on a five or six- minute skid where we weren't getting good shots offensively." The 'five or six-minute skid' allowed the Hawks to go on a 16-4 run and seal the win. The Quakers inability to put up quality points without Clark on the floor has been a problem all season.

"You are not going to win the game if you can't score," Greenberg said. "And when Jewel came out, we definitely hit an offensive skid where we couldn't score." While Penn struggled with Clark on the bench, Greenberg was impressed with the way the Quakers stepped up on defense against the Hawks' main threats. "We certainly knew [Amra Mehmedic] and [Irina Krasnoshiok] could shoot it," she said. "Our game plan was to put our small forward, Jewel [Clark], on Krasnoshiok and play her out on the perimeter. For the most part I thought we did a great job containing her." Krasnoshiok, a forward, entered last night's game after a strong performance against the University of Rhode Island in which she scored a career-high 32 points. Penn held her to 16 points and four rebounds on the night. While the Quakers were able to control the Hawks' two biggest threats in Krasnoshiok and Mehmedic, three other St. Joe's players surprised the Red and Blue. Junior forward Stephanie Graff blew up for 17 points and 10 rebounds -- her first double-double of the year. Another junior, guard Erin Brady paced the Hawks with 19 points and 5 rebounds, playing the entire forty minutes. Freshman forward Maura McBryan was the final pleasant surprise for the Hawks, as she finished the night with 10 points in only 18 minutes of action. Greenberg noted the impact McBryan had on the second half. "I thought the girl that really hurt us was the one who came off the bench, No. 15, the freshman. She had a heck of a half and unfortunately, we didn't slow her down," Greenburg said. The Quakers will look to get back on track next Tuesday when they take on Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa.

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