Bonenberger sisters bond over basketball

Family dinner after a game of one-on-one at the Bonenbergers’ house can be tense.

Sophomore Kara Bonenberger, a forward on the women’s basketball team, and her sister Alyssa spent their summer playing basketball in their hometown of Walnutport, Pa.

A year older, Alyssa, a guard for Division II Kutztown University, hurt her ankle in the preseason prior to her freshman year and was unable to get on the court at any point during the 2010-11 campaign.

Though Alyssa returned from her injury, her sophomore campaign was equally difficult. Kutztown went 8-20, its worst season in almost 30 years.

“Last year was just terrible for me,” Alyssa said. “I wasn’t in shape — even running up and down the court was hard.”

Meanwhile, Kara also felt there was much to be improved on from her freshman season at Penn.

“[Collegiate play is] a lot more physical, a lot more up and down,” Kara said. “We both were not ready for it.”

Despite receiving four Ivy League Rookie of the Week Awards and being named the Big 5 Rookie of the Year, Kara still believed she had a lot more room for growth.

“Freshman year, no one knows who you are, so you can kind of go in there and just try your best,” she said. “But it was really tough for me.”

After the sisters both struggled through their first seasons of college basketball, they reunited for the summer and were determined to motivate each other to become better players.

The two worked out five times a week, lifted three times a week and practiced their basketball moves with a personal trainer.

But what helped most was their one-on-one matchups.

“Playing one-on-one is the best type of practice that you could possibly get,” Kara said.

And the sisters’ games were not taken lightly, often getting so competitive that they would end in arguments.

“I beat her every time,” Alyssa said. “She hates playing me one-on-one.”

Alyssa has seen Kara play live in college only once — last season’s matchup against Drexel. The Quakers won the game in overtime, and Kara scored a career-high 27 points.

Alyssa believes herself to be the more physical player but cited her sister’s basketball acumen to be both her strength and weakness.

“She’s a very smart player,” Alyssa said. “She needs to stop thinking so much, and when she does that she really can’t be stopped.”

Though it’s early in the season, it’s already apparent that Alyssa and Kara’s workouts have improved both of their games.

Alyssa now runs up and down the court with ease and recorded 10 points and five assists in her first game of the season for Kutztown.

Penn has yet to win a game this year, but Kara is the third-leading scorer for the Quakers with 18 points.

As their collegiate careers continue, the sisters will keep pushing each other. There may be tension, but it’s only likely to help each sibling become stronger players in the long run.

SEE ALSO

Penn women’s basketball take charge of giving back

Erin Power returns to Penn in new role

Penn women’s basketball falls to Army, loses three straight

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.