Category Archives: Women's Basketball

What can we expect when the Penn women’s basketball team welcomes Cornell and Columbia to the Palestra for a pair of Ivy League games this weekend?

If recent history is any indication, it seems that, well, anything could happen.

If you haven’t been paying attention, here’s quick look at some of the historic and bizarre moments the Quaker women have gone accomplished/endured over the past couple of weeks.

• On Tuesday, freshman guard Keiera Ray was named the National Player
  

  Keiera Ray had a breakout performance last weekend

  of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association after scoring 50 points in two games. It was the first time anyone at Penn has ever won that award (male or female).

• On Saturday, Penn beat Dartmouth by the score of 63-40, the largest margin of victory in 68 all-time meetings with the Big Green.
• That win also clinched Penn’s first weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth in nine years.
• One night earlier, the Quakers beat Harvard for the first time in nine years, snapping a 17-game losing streak against the Crimson. It was also their first time beating Harvard at home since 2001.
• Five days before that, Penn posted its second-largest win over Brown in program history, beating the Bears on the road, 65-48 even though the game was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday and came at the end of an exhausting road trip to New England (more on that below). Penn now owns its first-ever three-game winning streak in Providence.
• One night before knocking off Brown, the Quakers ended up playing in a
  

  Here is where Penn played Yale two weeks ago

  PRACTICE GYM at Yale after a blizzard dropped three feet of snow on New Haven, forced the game to be rescheduled several times and caused a leak in Yale’s normal arena, the Lee Ampitheater. Throw in the fact that Penn’s team hotel was nearly evacuated the night before the game at 4 a.m. because of flooding and you have a few reasons why Penn dropped a 65-56 decision to the Bulldogs.

It’s actually a shame Penn had to play Yale in such unique circumstances because, led by junior Alyssa Baron, sophomore Kara Boneberger and freshman Ray, the Quakers are looking like an Ivy League title contender. Coach Mike McLaughlin’s squad is currently alone in second place, two games behind powerhouse Princeton.  Had Penn beaten Yale, perhaps Princeton might be feeling the heat even more.

But at least the Quakers were good sports about it their wild, snow-filled weekend in New England. Take a look at this cool video below to see what I mean.

By most standards, an 11-17 overall record and a sixth-place league finish would be considered a disappointing season. But for the Penn women’s basketball team, which was coming off a two-win campaign, it was nothing short of historic. Yesterday, the team that enjoyed the greatest single-season turnaround in program history honored its own at the annual end-of-season banquet. And a couple of days before that, I caught up with Mike McLaughlin, the Quakers’ sharp head coach charged with forging a new direction, and asked, among other things, about the progress he’s seen since arriving from Holy Family two years ago. Here’s the interview:

PENN GAZETTE SPORTS: After your second season in charge, how would you assess the building process?

MIKE MCLAUGHLIN: I definitely think we progressed from last year to this year in a lot of ways. Last year, even though we struggled winning games, I think we set the foundation and created a pretty good culture. I thought our players had a good offseason. The freshman that came in impacted us. Going from two wins to 11, I thought, was significant progress for this program.

What excited you most about the 2010-11 season?

I think the commitment level really excited me. I saw some young players with great futures. I saw upperclassmen improve from one year to the next. I’ve seen a very positive culture that we’ve built here. I think the future is bright with good players. We’re still a work in progress but I’m happy where we’re at right now.

How exciting was it to get the program’s first Big 5 win since 2004?

To get that monkey off the program’s back was huge for us. It happened on our own court and there’s a big emphasis on the Big 5, so that was great to see. It was great for the alumni who called us to let us know they were happy we got a Big 5 win.

What specifically have you done to change the losing culture that was prevalent before you arrived?

I don’t want to speak for what was here before me but I know the way we want to do it. We want to do it where it’s a positive environment. The coaching staff is energetic and we’re bringing people in that are fully invested in Penn basketball. It takes time to reinforce that. It takes time to build on that. It takes time for people to believe in it. After two years, I’m happy. I think the players have bought into it and they see a bright future for Penn basketball. It started with the players last year. We didn’t win many games, but that group last year really helped buy into what this new coaching staff was doing. When we have success down the road, which we’re starting to have, a lot of the credit will go to those three seniors I had last year because they could have given up.

It’s been more than two years but are there challenges for you personally adjusting from Division II to Division I?

No, I don’t see the level being a challenge. I think coaching at any level is a great challenge. Being acclimated at the school now has helped us dealing with our recruits and understanding the type of player we’re trying to get. We have a great product to sell; we have a great program and we have a phenomenal school. We just have to reach out in this big country and find kids that fit the mold.

Does the 78-27 loss to Princeton to end the season leave a sour taste in your mouth going into the next year?

It does, no question. It was a disappointing end to a very good year. It was our worst game by far and it happened to be at the end. It was a shame to have our worst day as your last game, because that’s what we remember. But I have to turn a real negative into a positive. I don’t know if our players need any more motivation but they know we’re a long way from winning. We’ve made strides, no question. But we are a long way away.

What do you have to do to compete with teams like Princeton for the Ivy League championship?

Well, we competed all year. We played Princeton tough the first time; we were tied at half and they beat us by 11. But we have to increase our talent level. We have to get the players here better, no question about that. We’re not hiding from that fact.

Did you know when you recruited her how wildly successful Alyssa Baron could be in her first year?

I thought she was a very talented player. One of the reasons Alyssa came in with us is she wanted the opportunity to play right away. And I think Penn fit her needs both academically and for her basketball goals. She had a tremendous freshman year, no question. I thought she was going to be a good player. But you never know – there’s a big transition from the high school to the college level. And she did a phenomenal job. I do think her future is going to be even brighter. I think she realizes she can improve in a lot of areas, and I think we’re going to have a better Alyssa Baron as her career goes on.

How is next year’s recruiting class shaping up? Do you have any more Alyssa Barons coming through the pipeline?

You know, I can only hope. I think have five good players coming in. They all have very good backgrounds and had good high school careers. I think they add significantly to what we have talent-wise. But it’s a transition. It’s a different level and you need to be prepared.

Do you think the Texas A&M-Notre Dame final – pitting two teams that weren’t necessarily supposed to be there – was good for women’s basketball and do you feel like the sport in general is on good footing?

I think it’s great for the sport. I actually was out there for the national semifinals and I can tell you that was a tremendous atmosphere for women’s basketball. It was a sold-out facility. The energy was high. I’ve been to other Final Fours but this one really had a great buzz to it. It’s great for our sport. I think it’s going to continue to grow. And I thought it was good basketball. UConn has set the bar so high and I think it’s making people better because they’re trying to reach them. It was good to see a new champion this year.

And when you go to the NCAA tournament yourself, I’m sure you dream of what it would be like taking your team there, right?

I think we all dream of winning championships. I hope our players got a chance to watch that, because it’s a special moment when you finally win something that’s special. And our goal is to win our league and make that feeling for our players.

It was during her sophomore or junior year when Jewel Clark C’04 walked into the Palestra, saw that the gym floor was covered in tarp and filled with banquet tables, and, bummed out, questioned why her team had to practice somewhere else that day.

“As I think back,” said Clark, a star player on the women’s basketball team from 2000-2004, “maybe that was a bit disrespectful.”

A decade later, she understands why those banquet tables were there. This time, she was a part of it.

Last Friday at the Palestra, Clark was inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame, gaining entry into the prestigious club alongside former rival Stacey Smalls of Temple and three men’s hoops standouts from the 1990s – Kerry Kittles (Villanova), Rick Brunson (Temple) and Rashid Bey (Saint Joseph’s).

Clark, who ranks second all-time on the program’s scoring list, becomes the 11^th Penn women’s basketball player to make the Big 5 Hall of Fame, joining Barbara Albom (1980-84), Kirsten Brendel (1987-91), Diana Caramanico 1998-2001), Auretha Fleming (1980-84), Sharon Gross (1978-82), Sandy Hawthorne (1979-82), Carol Kuna (1977-80), Vivian Machinksi (1973-77), June Staumbaugh (1983-86) and Beth Stegner (1979-83).

“I’m learning now why everyone loves the Big 5,” Clark said, shortly before she was inducted. “It’s becoming more meaningful to me. To walk into this building and to see the setup and to understand that I’m a part of it – that’s amazing.”

In her speech, Clark, who today is a teacher in Baltimore, noted that winning Big 5 games were special because in her mind, the girls from the Ivy League weren’t supposed to beat any other team in the city. By the time she graduated, however, the Maryland native had helped the Quakers knock off every Big 5 squad except La Salle.

“After my first year,” said Clark the 2003-04 Ivy League and Big 5 Player of the Year, “I realized how special those games were and I wanted it that much more.”

Just as special were Penn’s two Ivy League championships that bookended Clark’s career. In fact, she and classmate Mikaelyn Austin C’04 are the only players in team history to have played in two NCAA tournaments.

In 2001, as a freshman, Clark helped a team led by Caramanico qualify for the program’s first NCAA berth, where it lost at Texas Tech in the first round. Then, as a senior in ’04, Clark and the Quakers fell to Naismith College Player of the Year Diana Taurasi and eventual national champion UConn in the same round. That was Penn’s last NCAA appearance.

“Playing against Texas Tech was really just an experience,” Clark said. “It was a lot to take in. Playing in the NCAA tournament is not like playing in Ivy League or playing in the Big 5. So a lot came to me at once. The second time, playing at UConn, you don’t go into a game defeated and we didn’t do that. We did hang close for a little bit.”

As a competitor, Clark admits losing her final game was bitter, even if it did come against the best player and team in the country. But as she met members of the Big 5 Hall of Fame, enjoyed a meal on the same floor that she once perfected her jump shot, and gave a speech that Kittles said was very hard to follow, it all became clear to her – her impact on both Penn and the city’s basketball community was vital.

And if that wasn’t enough, all she had to was look to the current players on the Quakers’ women’s basketball team, who after the ceremony came into the Palestra, didn’t seem to mind the tarp covering the floor and, smiling, posed for a picture next to the life-sized poster of Clark.

Mike McLaughlin knows how to win basketball games.

Before coming to Penn to coach the women’s team, McLaughlin became the fastest women’s coach to reach 400 career victories – at any level. With a staggering 407-61 record over 14 seasons at Division II Holy Family, the 43-year-old won about as often as a college kid goes to class – once every 3.5 days.

So it must have come as quite a shock to him when it took a month-and-a-half to win his first game at Penn.

Right?

“Well, it’s a different challenge,” McLaughlin told Penn Gazette Sports about a week after the Quakers snapped its nine-game season-opening winless slide with a 52-48 win over St. Francis (N.Y.) on Dec. 31. “It wasn’t difficult. I don’t think the players have been discouraged. My goal is to run a program over time.

One win at Penn so far for McLaughlin

“There’s no doubt people look at the results. I’m not blind to that. But I didn’t put any expectations on winning and losing this year.”

It’s doubtful many people are rushing McLaughlin, who inherited a team that averaged less than 10 wins a season for five years under Pat Knapp.

If his track record is any indication, McLaughlin should have the Quakers back at the level they were in the early part of the decade when then-coach Kelly Greenberg (who’s now at Boston University) took them to two NCAA tournaments in four years – the first two in program history.

Penn celebrating the program's first Ivy title in 2000

It just may take a little time.

“Our message to players constantly is that we have to build a foundation,” the first-year coach said. “We’ll continue to make strides.”

There’s no tiptoeing around the fact that is a rough time for Penn basketball as both the men’s and women’s teams are sitting on one win. But with each squad directed by a young, energetic coach, there is reason for hope, McLaughlin says.

“Jerome (Allen) and I talk about passion and if you watch how we practice, you can see the energy in both programs,” he said. “There’s a great amount of energy for two teams that have not won a great deal of games.”

The Quakers (1-11) will undoubtedly keep that energy level high when they host rival Princeton tomorrow night at the Palestra in the first game of Ivy League competition.

Could that game turn into win No. 2 on the way to another 400 for McLaughlin?

“That’s the goal,” the coach said with a laugh.