PHILADELPHIA - Doing things that have never been done. That has been a cornerstone for the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball program under the watch of Head Coach
Mike McLaughlin, and the Quakers did it again on Thursday, defeating Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's for the second-straight season and by the largest margin in program history, 65-45, inside The Palestra. The victory pushes the Red and Blue to 2-1 on the year and 1-0 against their city rivals.
PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*The Quakers were led by three players in double figures, including a game-high 16 from
Princess Aghayere, 14 of which came in the first half, 15 from
Eleah Parker and 11 for
Ashley Russell.
*Parker notched the eighth double-double of her career and first of the season, adding 10 rebounds to her 15 points.
*Russell was close with eight board and Aghayere had seven, as the Quakers won the rebounding battle against the Hawks 50-32. The Quakers dominated second-chance points, 15-0, on 13 offensive rebounds.
*Russell matched a career-high with five assists. Parker matched a career-high in blocks with four.
Kendall Grasela matched her career-high in steals with three.
*Penn won the turnover battle, forcing SJU into 14 while only committing 12, but it was a lopsided advantage for the Quakers in points off turnovers, as the home team capitalized for 15 points to the Hawks' five.
*The Quakers held a distinct advantage in the paint, scoring 38 points down low, compared to SJU's 18.
*The win over SJU is the second-straight, the first victories in back-to-back years over the Hawks in program history for Penn. The 45 points for Saint Joseph's is their lowest total in the series since 2012.
*Penn is 1-0 in the Big 5 for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn's gameplan was set from the opening tip, as the Quakers won the ball and promptly streaked down the floor, earning points from Aghayere in the first possession. The game was delayed an hour as the Hawks had trouble making their way to The Palestra due to road conditions outside after Philadelphia's first snow of the season, and the icy temperatures seeped their was onto the court, as both teams went cold midway through the opening period.
After a five-plus minute drought for Penn, Russell took over on offense, hitting two straight to make it 10-5. The Quakers would respond to Russell's ignition of the offense, closing the quarter on a 9-0 run with points from
Kennedy Suttle and
Michae Jones to give the home team a 15-5 lead after 10 minutes, holding SJU scoreless for the final 6:02 of play.
Things would only snowball from there, as Penn put together a 10-0 run in the second quarter to grow its lead out to 17, and the Quakers' 2-3 zone continued to stifle the Hawks, putting together another long scoring drought. Free throws helped extend things, and the Quakers went into the locker room with a comfortable 40-20 lead behind 14 points from Aghayere.
SJU's offense failed to pick up to start the half, as Penn's smothering defense didn't allow a point from the Hawks for nearly three minutes.
Tori Crawford got involved in the scoring party with two quick ones in the paint, and Penn entered the fourth up 54-28.
The lead swelled to 30 in the fourth quarter as the Quakers looked to push the fast break, and continued to put the Hawks into long bouts of scoreless basketball on offense. The Hawks finally found some rhythm late, but it was not enough to overcome the sizable lead from Penn, ending in a 65-45 victory for the Red and Blue.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Quakers round out their two-game homestand with a Saturday matinee against NJIT in The Palestra, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.
#FightOnPenn
