W. Hoops staying alive

Sometimes "every game counts" is just a bad sports cliche, but every so often, it's actually true. For the Penn women's basketball team, every game from now on is absolutely vital.

This weekend, the Quakers take on two more Ivy League foes, Brown and Yale, at the Palestra.

The Red and Blue (11-8, 5-2 Ivy) stands in a three-way tie for second place in the Ivy League loss column, with Harvard and Brown. But the Quakers are still two games behind the Ivy frontrunner -- undefeated Dartmouth.

"We need to take care of business," senior guard Amanda Kammes said. "We have seven games left and we need to go 7-0, no question about that, and hope Dartmouth loses a game."

A loss for the Quakers this weekend at the Palestra would probably mean the end of their attempted defense of the Ivy League title.

"The Palestra is everything," co-captain and senior guard Karen Habrukowich said. "As a senior, we have five more games here, so it just means everything; we're going to play our hearts out."

The Quakers will take on a tough Brown team tonight in what should prove to be a battle.

"Brown is a really athletic up-tempo team," Kammes said. "They're gonna come in here and try to prove to everyone they're better than Penn."

Brown (14-7, 6-2) is led by the inside-outside combination of Holly Robertson and Sarah Hayes. Hayes leads the team with an average of 14.6 points per game.

But, Robertson is right behind her, averaging 14.3 points per game in addition to 8.5 rebounds.

"We really gotta shut down Holly in the post," Habrukowich said. "We're gonna try and double team her and also stop Sarah Hayes at the top. Defensively, that's our key for Brown."

Penn has had trouble with top Ivy League post players so far this season. Princeton's Becky Brown lit up the Quakers for 20 points in a Penn win at Princeton, while also holding Quakers center Jennifer Fleischer to no field goals.

Still, Fleischer has been dominant at times in the past, like last weekend when she grabbed 40 rebounds at Columbia and Cornell.

The Quakers do have reasons to be optimistic about the weekend. They beat Brown, 47-43, in Providence, R.I., after a hard- fought battle on Jan. 29. The Bears, however, will certainly be hungry for revenge.

"Brown's gonna come in, try to knock us down," Kammes said. "Its really important for us to defend our home court and take care of business."

Yale (4-17, 1-7) lacks the lofty record and star power of Brown. However, the close, but ugly game in New Haven and the history between the Elis and Quakers suggest the win is anything but a given.

"Yale, regardless of their record, they've given us a good game in the Palestra the last few years," Kammes said. "They gave us a good game in their place, and I don't expect anything less."

For Penn, the keys this weekend are less about the opposition and more about how they play.

"I think we just have to play our game, and play with confidence and composure," Habrukowich said. "Offensively, just work together, and defensively, the same; just work together, rebound, and just keep playing hard defense."

If the Quakers can play their game there is no reason to expect anything but two wins. But their last homestand, which ended in two losses to Harvard and Dartmouth, shows how vulnerable the team can be.

The poor shooting by the Quakers in their first meeting with Yale and Brown can not be repeated.

"Every weekend from here on out is Ivy League championship weekend," Kammes said. "We need to go 2-0 this weekend, can't mess around, can't have any slip-ups. We need to come out with guns ablazing."

If they can do that, the Quakers will put themselves in a position to at least contend for the title and the berth in the NCAA Tournament that it brings.

Note: Saturday night Penn will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

The day was created by Congress in 1986, and its purpose is to honor female athletic achievement.

The first 100 fans at the Palestra for the game against Yale will receive commemorative T-shirts.

The annual Penn alumnae game will be held at 4 p.m., and two youth girls Catholic Youth Organization games will be held after the game.

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