Penn-Stevens Box Score (PDF)
PHILADELPHIA – The University of
Pennsylvania (10-6, 3-0) posted a decisive 89-43 win over Stevens Institute of
Technology (9-8, 8-1 Empire 8) on Sunday night at The Palestra. The contest
marked the final non-conference game of the season as the Quakers head into the
bulk of the Ivy League campaign following Sunday's match-up.
Tonight's
game counted towards both teams overall records, but will not affect their
standings in the NCAA RPI.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Sydney
Stipanovich notched her eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and
13 boards, while Michelle Nwokedi led all scorers on the evening with 15
points. Ashley Russell was also in double-digits for the Quakers with 11 points,
and Anna Ross dished out a game-high seven assists.
Stipanovich
recorded her 300th career block in the contest, and sits just five
blocks away from tying the Ivy League record of 305 set by Columbia's Kathy
Gilbert from 1987-91. Additionally, the Penn bench recorded 45 points in the
matchup to contribute to the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Quakers
size was the definitive advantage from the start and the Ducks had trouble
defending the 1-2 punch of Stipanovich and Nwokedi in the early goings. By final
two minutes of the frame, the Quakers had built a 19-3 advantage, bookended by
a 15-0 run over the last 4:14, with a combined 13 points coming from the twin
towers to take a 20-8 lead over Stevens.
Stevens
relied on the three ball to keep up with the competition, but turnovers marred
their chances to get anything going offensively despite a 6-0 run to start the
second. Both teams found themselves in a scoring drought that lasted just over
five minutes in the frame, until Nwokedi broke the streak by hitting two
attempts from the charity stripe to take a 34-18 lead into intermission.
Action from
beyond the arc dominated the third with a combined six treys from both sides in
less than four minutes. With 4:39 left to play in the quarter, the Quakers had
doubled the score on the Ducks, 52-26, on the heels of 77.5% shooting
(13-of-17) and eight fast break points. Russell dominated the end of the
quarter, registering 11 of the final 13 points to take a 67-33 lead at the end
of the period.
The Quaker
bench carried the Red and Blue to the finish in the fourth as all available
players saw game action, and Penn sealed the win at 89-43 for their largest
margin of victory in the Mike McLaughlin era.
UP NEXT
Penn is all
Ivy action from here on out, beginning with the infamous Friday-Saturday slate.
The Quakers host Harvard on Friday, Feb. 3 and Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 4 in
the friendly confines of The Palestra.
#FightOnPenn
