PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team led for nearly the entire first half against Princeton Friday night at The Palestra, but the Tigers utilized a 20-point advantage in the third quarter en route to a 71-52 decision.
Before the game, Penn honored its five seniors:
Mandy McGurk,
Faye Parker,
Sydnei Caldwell,
Silke Milliman, and
Kayla Padilla.
Quaker Notemeal
*All five seniors started in the game, as four of the five scored in the contest, combining for 29 points.
*Junior
Jordan Obi led all Penn scorers with 19 points to go with 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. A consistent outing had her shoot 8-for-11 from the floor.
*Padilla was close behind with 17 points, adding a tied team-high three assists and four rebounds.
*McGurk, Parker, and Caldwell combined for 12 points. McGurk pulled in five rebounds, three assists, and two steals for a well-rounded performance.
*Parker totaled a career-high three blocks, a mark that played out as a game-high as well.
*Penn shot 39 percent from the floor (20-for-51), with the bench contributing 23 points.
*Penn led for 20:22, while the Tigers held the advantage for the remaining 18:08.
How It Happened
With all five members of the senior class in the starting lineup, Parker scored 21 seconds in off a feed down low from Padilla. After the Tigers tied the score, Padilla knocked down a three to tie the program's single-season record set in 1999-2000 by Mandy West with 77.
Following a pair of Princeton free throws, Parker converted an and-one three-point play, setting a new season-high in scoring in the process.
The teams traded baskets and free throws throughout the next several minutes, with the Penn lead fluctuating between two and five points. With 90 seconds left in the quarter, Padilla ended a Princeton possession with an emphatic block, then finished on the other end with a layup, giving the Quakers a seven-point lead, their largest of the game.
Princeton trimmed the margin to five by the end of the period. Padilla and Parker finished the opening 10 minutes with a combined 13 points.
The Tigers closed to within two at 17-15 to open the second quarter, but five straight points from Obi pushed the lead back to seven. The teams traded two baskets each over the next three minutes, with Penn maintaining the seven-point advantage into the media timeout.
Following the break, the Penn edge shrunk to two off a 5-0 Princeton spurt, but the Quakers remained in front heading to the locker room, courtesy of a McGurk three-pointer and a
Floor Toonders layup in the final three minutes of the half.
The Quakers conceded the lead for the first time when Princeton opened the second half with 13 straight points before an Obi turnaround jumper nearly five minutes into the frame ended the Penn scoring drought.
The Princeton lead eventually pushed to 20 before Padilla closed the quarter with a buzzer-beater floater.
In the fourth, Penn pulled as close as 13 but the Tigers maintained a comfortable lead, closing out the game to claim at least a share of the conference regular-season crown.
Up Next
The Quakers head to Jadwin Gymnasium next weekend for Ivy Madness. Penn will await its semifinal opponent after tomorrow's Ivy League contests conclude the regular season, but most possibilities have the Quakers lined up to play Princeton again next Friday. Check out
www.pennathletics.com for more information on opponent, start times, and more as it becomes available.
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