This year's Quakers won't have an opportunity to rise up through the record books until next season. Today, we take a look back at the top five scorers in Penn women's basketball history.
5. Dionne Anthon, 1,293 career points, 1989-92
During her time as a Quaker, Dionne Anthon made her mark in the Penn women's basketball record books. She holds the mark for most free throws made in a season with 123. Anthon is also second on the career free-throw percentage list. In her senior season, Anthon was the scoring leader for the Quakers, averaging 15.5 points per game. She also ranks third in most career assists with 294, and fifth in career steals with 169.
4. Kirsten Brendel, 1,656 career points, 1988-91
Kirsten Brendel was a two-time scoring leader and four-time rebounding leader for the Red and Blue, and was was named 1990-91 Ivy League Player of the Year and Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year. She holds the Penn record for most points in a single game, thanks to her 41-point performance against Bucknell in 1991. In her senior year, Brendel notched a Penn record of 631 points in a season, and finished ninth nationally in scoring. She graduated as the Ivy leader in scoring average, field goals made in a season, and free throws made in a season and a career. After her Quaker career ended, Brendel would go on to play professional basketball in Australia, Switzerland, and Germany, and she was inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1997.
3. Jewel Clark, 1,743 career points, 2001-4
Jewel Clark's freshman season resulted in a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a selection for the Ivy League All-Rookie Team. At the time, she was only the fourth Quaker to receive this honor. Clark ended her junior year season as fifth all-time on the scoring list, where she then passed a few members during her team’s run to the 2003-04 Ivy League championship. Clark entered her senior season with 1,189 career points after leading the Quakers in scoring. Clark finished her senior season with 554 points, good enough for sixth-most in program history. Also during that season, she was named the 2003-04 Ivy League and Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year. Throughout her career, Clark recorded 29 double-doubles, including 12 during her final season, and finished with 1,743 career points.
2. Alyssa Baron, 1,806 career points, 2011-14
Alyssa Baron helped take a Penn women's basketball team with a 2-26 record the season prior to her arrival to Ivy League champions by her senior year.
During her career, Baron earned an honorable mention All-Ivy in 2010-2011 and a second team All-Ivy nod in 2011-2012. She was a nine-time Ivy Player of the Week, seven-time Big 5 Player of the Week, and a seven-time Ivy Rookie of the Week. Baron also earned two Academic All-Ivy awards and was the 2013-14 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year.
Baron started every game during her four years at Penn. During her freshman year, Baron was the first freshman in Ivy history to lead the league in scoring and the sixth player to earn four first team All-Big 5 honors. During that season, Baron became the second Penn player to win the Ivy League and Big 5 Rookie of the Year accolades.
In her sophomore and junior years, Baron led the Ivy League in scoring and became the third-fastest player to score 1,000 points in program history.
As a senior, Baron led the Red and Blue to their first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade earned her second-straight unanimous first team All-Ivy selection. She was also named Ivy League and Big 5 Player of the Year during her senior season. Her 1,806 career points ranked second all-time at Penn and ninth in Ivy League history.
1. Diana M. Caramanico, 2,415 points, 1998-2001
Diana Caramanico is the all-time leading scorer in Penn women's basketball history with 2,415 points. During her sophomore year, she was named the Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year and Ivy League Player of the Year, as well as unanimous first team All-Ivy, All-Philadelphia Big 5, and second team All-ECAC. She also recorded 21 double-doubles in 26 games, and was named Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Week six times. Also during her sophomore season, Caramanico recorded her 500th career rebound.
In her junior season, Caramanico was again voted Ivy League and Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year, and chosen third team Associated Press All-American. She became the fastest athlete in Penn men’s and women’s basketball history to record her 1,000th career point. During her senior year, she scored 607 points and surpassed the legendary Ernie Beck as the Quakers’ all-time leading scorer for both men’s and women’s basketball. Caramanico averaged 22.7 points per game and ranked seventh on the NCAA Division I scoring leading list. She also finished second on the NCAA Division I rebounding list, averaging 12.8 rebounds per game. She is the first women’s basketball player at Penn to receive both Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors.
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