PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team looks to rebound from consecutive losses and capture a share of the Big 5 Championship on Thursday night at Temple. The matchup with the Owls will conclude Penn's non-conference schedule before the Quakers dive into Ivy League action in earnest next weekend with road matches at Harvard and Dartmouth.
GAME INFORMATION: Penn (10-3, 0-1 Ivy League) at Temple (11-7, 4-2 AAC)
Jan. 23, 2020 | 7 p.m. | McGonigle Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. | WATCH | Live Stats
In the Series vs. Temple: 51st Meeting
Despite trailing in the all-time series, the Quakers have regained control of late, following a nine-game losing streak to the Owls. Since 2014, Penn has won five of the last seven meetings, including the last two and three of the most-recent four. Last year, at The Palestra, the Quakers beat Temple 71-62 and also cruised to a 74-59 victory the season before that, in 2018.
Catching the Game: OwlsTV
Thursday's game can be watched live on Temple's OwlsTV channel. In-game Twitter updates and video can be found at @PennWBB. A complete recap, box score and highlights will be on PennAthletics.com shortly after the conclusion of the game.
Last Time Out: L, 70-58 at Villanova (Jan. 22, 2020)
- The Quakers jumped out to an early advantage at Finneran Pavilion and even took a four-point lead into the halftime break. A quick flurry to start the third quarter raised the Penn lead to eight before the Wildcats battled back with a strong final period, outscoring the Red and Blue 24-14 over the closing 10 minutes.
- Freshman Kayla Padilla recorded her eighth 20-point game of the season with 23 points, four rebounds and three assists. Eleah Parker was the only other Quaker in double figures with 10 points, four rebounds and three blocks.
Coach McLaughlin and the Big 5
In the 30 years of Big 5 play prior to Coach Mike McLaughlin taking over at Penn, the Quakers had won a total of 14 Big 5 games. In his 11th season with the Red and Blue, he has surpassed that number himself, with 17 wins against his in-city rivals. He is the only coach in program history to win at least one game against every Big 5 school, and has helped lead Penn to its first two Big 5 championships in program history. With a win at Temple on Thursday, the Quakers would earn their third title, sharing it with Villanova.
Chasing 600
In his 25th season as a head coach, McLaughlin is just four wins away from achieving his 600th career victory, thanks to 189 wins at Penn. Entering the Temple game, the head man owns a record of 596-180 and will be the 19th active head coach in D-I to reach the 600-win group.
As a program, Penn is just one victory from its 600th all-time win.
Get Out And Run
One of Penn's many keys to success is its transition offense and defense. Thus far this season, the Quakers have outscored their opponents 169-60 in fast break points and are 9-0 when winning the category. When its outscored in transition, though, Penn is 1-2 and 0-1 when tying the fast break battle.
Nationally, We Rank…
*Sixth in scoring defense (51.7)
*Seventh in fewest fouls per game (13.1)
*Ninth in field-goal percentage defense (33.8)
*10th in assist/TO ratio (1.38)
*17th in fewest turnovers per game (12.3)
*18th in scoring margin (+17.7)
*25th in turnover margin (+5.38)
Up Next
With non-conference play completely in the rearview, the Quakers will take a week off from competition before entering their first Ivy weekend, which includes games on back-to-back nights. Penn will travel to Harvard on Friday, Jan. 31 then Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 1.
#FightOnPenn
