W. Hoops | Quakers will step out of the zone

Coach Pat Knapp and his team might want to look for a fallout shelter, because when they face Villanova (4-1) tomorrow, it'll be bombs away.

Tomorrow, Penn will have to deal with a squad that has already developed a reputation of being a huge three-point threat. This does not bode well for the Quakers (3-3), who are trying to turn around an abysmal 2-32 record against the Wildcats.

"We better get a hand up and contest those shots," Knapp said, not wanting to give away any information as to the Quakers' strategy in defending the three-pointer. Forward Maggie Burgess hinted that her team will play man, not zone.

The Wildcats have taken 54.4 percent of their shots from downtown, and made 36.9 percent of those threes. Defensively, the Quakers have been allowing opposing teams to shoot 37.1 percent from outside.

So the 2-3 zone that worked so effectively against Rider the last time the Quakers played may well be a non-option.

Villanova's playing style presents the Quakers with another unique problem. Knapp may consider changing up his lineup against the Wildcats, because some starters, such as Burgess, who is 6-foot-2 and used to banging around down low, aren't at their best defending the perimeter.

Burgess did not see any time in last year's game against Villanova, a 57-50 defeat at the Palestra.

"If I do play, I will just be guarding them . the same as the guards will, up on the shooters," she said.

Burgess added that in such a scenario, the Quakers would definitely pound the ball inside. Penn's big players would try to take advantage of the "uniform" Villanova team, as Burgess called it, that has all its starters standing about six feet tall.

Defensively, the Quakers will struggle to match the highly efficient Wildcats. Villanova averages a hair over 10 turnovers a game, while consistently notching around 14 assists.

"We're . dedicated to stopping you in the half-court, so we better pressure the ball very hard," Knapp said about possible ways to force more turnovers. "We're not necessarily a pressing team at this point with our numbers and our capabilities."

Penn can find solace in the fact that Loyola-Maryland, a team that Penn beat earlier this season, solved the Villanova puzzle in holding the Wildcats to a season-low 47 points and coming away with a two-point victory.

In that game, Villanova went ice-cold in the second half, shooting at a measly 24 percent.

In order to begin turning the one-sided record around, the Quakers had better hope that the Wildcats' offensive bombing run comes up short again in this one.

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