PHILADELPHIA – The season is finally here. The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team tips off its 2022-23 campaign on Thursday night in Poughkeepsie, New York, battling Marist in a non-conference tilt.
 
GAME 1: PENN (0-0) at MARIST (0-1)
Thursday, November 10, 2023 | 7:00 PM
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. | James J. McCann Center
Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes | History
 
The Series
The Quakers are meeting Marist for the seventh time in program history, as the Red Foxes hold a slight 4-2 lead in the series. Penn has dropped the last two matchups back in 2004 and 2005, but only by a total of six points. The two squads haven't faced off in almost 17 years, and 18 since a bout in New York. The last time in the McCann Center, the Red Foxes knocked in a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift them to a 59-58 decision.
 
Last Time We Met
It's been 17 years since these two teams battled, last meeting on New Year's Eve in 2005 at The Palestra. The Quakers rallied from a 12-point deficit, but solid free-throw shooting down the stretch sealed the victory for Marist, 70-65. Penn was led by a double-double performance from Jennifer Fleischer, dropping 19 points to go with 17 rebounds.
 
About Marist
The Red Foxes are coming off a season-opening loss on Monday at home against Villanova, 60-38. A familiar foe for the Quakers, battling the Wildcats every season in a Big 5 matchup, Villanova was passed by a 21 point-13 rebound performance by Maddy Siegrist and Christina Dalce's 17 boards and 13 points. Marist had two players hit double figures in the game, Zaria Shazer with 18 points and Kiara Fisher with 11. Both players were named preseason All-MAAC third-team honorees; they join six other players as returnees to the squad this season.
 
A Look Ahead
The Quakers are on the road a lot through the month of November, only playing in The Palestra once on November 17 against Villanova. Beyond opening the season at Marist, they will travel to Chicago for a Big Ten tilt with Northwestern (Nov. 13) and follow up with a west coast trip to California the week of Thanksgiving for battles against San Francisco (Nov. 21) and USC (Nov. 23). The rest of the month includes two more Big 5 games in Philadelphia, at Saint Joseph's (Nov. 15) and at La Salle (Nov. 29).
 
Leading The Way
Penn is led by a pair of seniors this season, as the team named Mandy McGurk and Kayla Padilla captains. This is Padilla's second stint at the helm of the team, earning the honor last season as well. Both players are critical pieces to the success of the program, each being with the team since freshmen year.
 
Padilla Cut Loose
The senior guard from Torrance, California has had a decorated two seasons with the Quakers already, with a list of accolades to go along with it. She entered her Penn career with a stellar freshman season where she was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, first team All-Ivy, USBWA National Freshman of the Week, and countless Player of the Week nods from the conference and Big 5. Without a season in 2020-21 due to the pandemic, she picked up right where she left off last year, earning first team for the Ivy League, Big 5 and City of Basketball Love. She averaged 37.6 minutes per game which led the Ivy League and was 11th in the country. She also led the conference in scoring with 18.6 points per game at a .401 clip. To top it all off, she continued to put her name in the program record book, setting the three-point field goal record for a single game with nine against Memphis, totaling 36 points for the contest, the 10th most points in a program history. She is opening her senior season on the Preseason Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watch list for the second-straight time.
 
New Faces
The Quakers have seven new players this season, six freshmen and a junior transfer. All seven come from far and wide including the Netherlands, Canada, California, Illinois, and New Jersey. Junior Floor Toonders highlights the group, transferring in after two seasons with Florida. The freshmen class includes Saniah Caldwell, Simone Sawyer, Georgia Heine, Isabel Gomez, Helena Lasic, and Ella Ray.
 
Magic Number: 60
The statistic that may most indicate a Penn win or loss? 60 points. Penn has won 124 of its last 130 regular season games when scoring at least 60 points in regulation. Since head coach Mike McLaughlin took over at Penn, the Quakers are 161-18 (.900) when they reach that number (133-10 over the last seven seasons). In comparison, the Quakers are just 49-119 (.292) when they've scored less than 60 points under Coach McLaughlin. The trend continues defensively. Over the last eight seasons, the Red and Blue are 40-77 (.341) when allowing 60 points or more. But when holding opponents under that number, the Quakers hold a healthy winning record of 167-34 (.830).