PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania fell in heartbreaking fashion, 76-72, at Temple on Thursday night.
Through three quarters the Quakers led by 13, but the Owls battled back with a 17-3 run in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.
Eleah Parker was dominant in the post on Thursday with 17 points and 13 rebounds, the second Quaker to go for a double-double this season; Kendall Grasela drilled a pair of three pointers, raising her season total to five while scoring a career-high 15 points to go with seven assists.
PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*When scoring at least 60 points under Mike McLaughlin, Penn is now 108-2.
*Penn finishes the regular season with 10 non-conference wins, tied for the second most in program history.
*Kendall Grasela scored a career-high 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting and two three pointers, which matches the most she's made in a game.
*Grasela also recorded seven assists, the seventh time she's helped on five or more buckets in a game this season.
*Eleah Parker enjoyed a terrific night, going for 17 points, the third-most she's scored in a game this season, to go along with a season-high 13 rebounds.
Parker's 13 boards are the most since she pulled down 17 against American in the WNIT last year.
*Parker's double-double is her first of the season and Penn's second, joining Kennedy Suttle's 11-point, 11-rebound performance against Iona.
*Parker swatted away two shots, moving into a tie with Katarina Poulsen for third in career blocks in program history (194).
*Tori Crawford continued her contributions off the bench, finishing in double figures for the fourth time in the last six games with 11 points and seven boards. In her last three games, Crawford is averaging eight rebounds per game.
*Phoebe Sterba hit three shots from beyond the arc, the 11th game this season that she's hit more than one, including nine of the last 10.
*Sterba's six assists are a career high.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn's opening two buckets both came on long balls with Kayla Padilla and then Kendall Grasela drilling three pointers in the first 2:12. After Temple closed within 6-5, Grasela pumped on a shot, drove to the paint and one-handed a bounce pass to a cutting Tori Crawford for an easy reverse layup. On the next possession, Phoebe Sterba lobbed in an entry pass to Eleah Parker for another uncontested bucket, stretching the lead to 10-5 at the midway point of the first quarter.
Grasela extended the lead to seven with a pair of free throws before the Owls finally ended their 4:41 stretch without a field goal. At that point, though, Marissa Mackins went on an eight-point run herself, burying two three pointers and another bucket to keep Temple within just a point at 14-13 with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter. Penn, however, countered with a staggering run, scoring the final 12 points of the quarter, spurred on by six points from Parker, a second three from Grasela and then a long ball from Sterba to lead 26-13 after 10 minutes.
Parker hit double figures just 45 seconds into the second quarter with another basket but back-to-back scores for the Owls trimmed the lead to nine once more with just under eight minutes left in the half. Sterba hit her second three then Kennedy Suttle stepped into a long ball before Emily Anderson corralled an offensive board and hit a midrange jumper to make it 36-23 at the midway point of the second.
Two consecutive Temple scores cut into the lead once more, but Parker halted the run with a deft cut to the rim for an easy layup, and then the Quakers scored five of the final six points of the half to take a 43-32 advantage into the break.
The Owls began the third quarter with five of the first seven points to claw within eight at 45-37 with seven minutes to play before Sterba promptly stepped behind the line and hit her third three of the game. Two more scores from Temple made it 48-41, but Penn immediately responded with a 10-3 spurt thanks to threes from Katie Kinum – off a heady extra pass from Grasela – and Padilla, who was left wide open in transition. In a fastbreak scenario, Padilla found a streaking Kinum for an easy layup to widen the lead to 58-44 with under three minutes left in the third. Penn led 60-47 after 30 minutes.
Over the first 3:31 in the final quarter, Temple blitzed the Quakers for an 11-1 run to inch within three at 61-58. The Owls weren't done there, though. Over the course of the first six minutes in the fourth, Temple outscored Penn 17-3 and took the lead at 64-63 with less than four minutes to play. Temple pushed the lead to four before Crawford got into double figures with a contested basket at the rim.
With 2:49 left and trailing by four, Parker battled through the contact for a hoop and the harm. She converted her chance at the line to close within one. On the next possession, Michae Jones hit a runner in the lane and the Quakers were back ahead at 70-69 with 2:21 to go.
Two free throws and a Mia Davis layup put Temple back up by three, though. Parker scored once more to make it 73-72 with 43 seconds left, but a layup and a free throw from Davis iced the game at 76-72.
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