DURHAM – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team's second-half comeback, which included a 22-11 third quarter, fell short at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday afternoon, as Duke dealt the Quakers their first loss of the season, 66-50.
Penn trailed by as many as 21 points in the second quarter, but punched back with an incredible effort to claw within five at the end of the third.
Freshman Kayla Padilla led the Red and Blue with 15 points, four assists and two rebounds while Kennedy Suttle pitched in a career high-matching 11 points, five boards and three steals.
PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Duke's 66 points are the most allowed in a game this season by Penn. The Quakers entered Friday with the fourth-best scoring defense in the country, allowing just 45.5 per game.
*Duke shot 47.1% from the field; Penn is 2-29 under Mike McLaughlin when the opponents shoot at least 46%.
*Penn is now 56-105 under McLaughin when failing to reach 60 points.
*The Quakers forced 19 turnovers, the third time they've turned the opponent over at least that many times.
*For the first time this season, Penn finished with fewer points in the paint and fewer fast-break points than its opponent.
*Kennedy Suttle scored 11 points for the second time this season, matching her career high.
*Kayla Padilla hit three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, raising her stretch of games in double figures to five to start her career.
*Penn managed just six points in the fourth quarter, its lowest total of any quarter this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Duke scored the game's first four points before Eleah Parker banked in a turnaround lefty to halve the deficit. To snatch the lead, Kennedy Suttle whipped a crosscourt pass to Kayla Padilla in the corner, who knocked down the three. After a Phoebe Sterba long ball to take an 8-5 lead, Duke went on a 9-0 run to scoot out to a 14-8 advantage. To end the run, Tori Crawford slipped a pass into Emily Anderson for an easy layup. The Blue Devils answered with another 6-0 run to double Penn up at 20-10 with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Before the end of the period, Michae Jones hit a free throw to cut the lead to nine.
Duke opened the second quarter with another 6-0 spurt to surge further ahead. In total, the Blue Devils unleashed a 27-3 run to eventually lead 32-11 with 4:13 remaining in the first half. Crawford banked in a shot, Padilla hit her second 3-pointer and Anderson scored again to make it 36-18 with 1:47 left in the half. Suttle finished the half with a pair of buckets, including a mid-range jumper from the elbow to take the Quakers into the half down 38-22.
The Red and Blue began the second half by forcing a shot clock violation then Padilla made a nifty runner in the lane to make it 38-24. Another stop led to a Parker bucket; the junior swatted away a ball on the ensuing defensive possession to continue the momentum. Padilla drilled a three to close within 10 at 39-29 for the first time since the end of the first quarter.
Just past the midway point of the third, Duke edged out to a 44-31 lead before Sterba hit a runner late in the shot clock. Two possessions later, Suttle drilled a three from straightaway and then, on a run out, Padilla battled through contact for another layup, closing to 44-38 with 2:27 left in the third quarter, outscoring the Blue Devils 16-6 in the half until that point.
Down 47-38, Penn hit on four straight shots from the line and then Jones dribbled into a baseline jumper, clawing the Quakers back within five, at 49-44 at the end of the third. Penn outscored Duke 22-11 in the period.
The Blue Devils pulled away back to an eight-point lead at 54-46, but Sterba promptly canned a long ball to make it five once again. Duke answered once more, stretching the lead to 58-49 with 5:13 remaining. With 3:05 left, the deficit was still 10 at 60-50.
With just one point over the final 7:45, Penn fell 66-50 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
UP NEXT?
A quick turnaround lies ahead for the Quakers, who return home to host Hartford at The Palestra on Monday, Dec. 2 before continuing Big 5 play at La Salle on Wednesday night.
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