Facing W. Hoops, Jaspers get off Scott-free

Pat Knapp was in a bind Saturday night.

His women's basketball team faced a Manhattan club that forced him to play a four-guard set - a configuration that ended in a 66-44 Quakers loss.

With junior guard Kelly Scott still injured, he "really [didn't] have the guards we want[ed] in the lineup."

Will Scott's return help?

"God, I hope it helps," Knapp replied. "I need a good rest tonight."

Down 31-25 going into halftime, Knapp needed to counter the Jaspers' speed. He decided to use sophomore Caitlin Slover in an unfavorable position.

"Slover just got back. She should never play this many minutes [in her first return from injury]," Knapp said.

The game started off as a battle between Penn's size and Manhattan's quickness. Quakers junior Carrie Biemer, a six-foot forward, was the leading scorer for the Quakers coming into this game, heading a Penn frontcourt that loomed over the Lady Jaspers.

"Biemer is one of the best players that we will face throughout the year," Manhattan coach Myndi Hill said. "I'm not sure you have a game plan to stop a player of that caliber."

The Lady Jaspers chose not to double-team her, however, and Biemer put up a respectable 11 points.

Throughout the contest, Manhattan torched the Quakers from downtown, going 6-for-14.

"I was very disappointed in our veterans," said Knapp, who did not make his players available for comment. "We couldn't guard anybody."

The Jaspers came out with an excellent defensive scheme to counter Penn's size.

"We tried to mix up our defenses a little, man and then that trapping zone, to kind of keep them off," Hill said.

The scheme not only prevented the Quakers from exploiting Biemer to the fullest, but also led to Penn turnovers. The Quakers often ran the shot clock to under 10 seconds, and then either forced up a bad shot or lost the ball back to the Jaspers. Penn had 24 turnovers.

Manhattan, led by talented freshman Michelle Pacheco and junior Gabrielle Cottrell, coughed up the ball 11 times.

"I think the big stat here is turning the ball over," Hill said. "We really took care of the ball."

Despite their size, the Quakers got punished on the boards, especially on the defensive end in the first half. Penn allowed a number of crucial second-chance points to Manhattan.

"In the first half, they got enough rebounds to take away our momentum," Knapp said.

Without some of their traditional starters, the Quakers were blasted in the second half, as Manhattan held them to only 19 points and ran away with the game.

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