Box Score vs. Temple (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania (9-6, 0-4 Big 5) fell in a hard-fought game to Big 5 rival Temple (16-3, 4-0) 63-53, on Wednesday night at The Palestra in the final game of the city series for the 2016-17 season. With the win, Temple claimed the outright Big 5 title with a perfect 4-0 record against their Philly foes.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Quakers were led by the duo of Sydney Stipanovich (16 points, 7 rebounds) and Michelle Nwokedi (10, 5), both of whom posted double-digit efforts on the evening. Anna Ross added in eight points and a season-high eight assists alongside three boards while Kasey Chambers registered nine points and seven steals on the evening.

Temple had four players in double digits, led by the game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds from Donnaizha Fountain. The Owls shot 41.7% from the field, including 5-of-15 (33.3%) from three point range while the Quakers were 19-of-51 (37.3%) for the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Quakers were the first to get on the board with a Stipanovich jumper, but Temple countered with a 9-2 run in the opening three and a half minutes to take control. Despite the run, the Red and Blue defense gave the Owls fits in the stanza, forcing four turnovers over in the final five minutes as the Quakers went on to hit 5-of-7 from the field to make it a one point game, 14-13, after 10.

Both teams struggled to take care of the ball early in the second with a combined four turnovers in the opening 3:02. A 7-0 run spurred by the hosts made it a four point game at 24-20, and the Quakers were without the help of Stipanovich who picked up a questionable third foul with 4:50 on the clock. The center capped the quarter however, re-entering with two ticks left to nail a close-range jumper to keep Penn within striking distance, 35-29, of the visitors at intermission.  

Anna Ross closed the deficit to one possession, 44-41, by the media timeout in the third quarter as she connected on both of her tries from the charity stripe. Just seconds later, freshman Phoebe Sterba's put-back put the hosts even closer at 44-43 to allow the Red and blue within striking distance. The Quaker defense continued to wreak havoc on both ends of the court, and the Owls were just 2-of-10 in the final minutes of the frame as Penn trailed by one, 46-45, after three quarters of action.

The fourth end continued the Penn theme of tough defense and Temple struggled to have an answer for the Quaker frontcourt. Chambers gave Penn the lead for the first time following the opening minutes  off a trey from downtown, and Stipanovich kept up the Red and Blue momentum with a lay-in just seconds later to post a 50-48 lead. Alliya Butts pushed the Owls ahead by six with a trey to make it 58-52 with less than three minutes to play, but the Quakers ran out of time to send the contest into overtime as Temple claimed the win, 63-53.

UP NEXT

The Quakers return to action on Sunday, Jan. 29 when they host their final non-conference game of the season vs. Stevens Institute of Technology. Game time is slated for 5 p.m. at The Palestra.

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