PHILADELPHIA, PA. 12/20/2019 – It was a Battle of 33rd Street women’s basketball version as the two teams were ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 20. The University of Pennsylvania came in ranked 9th, and Drexel was 16th. How many teams can go on a road trip and walk to the opponents home court? Not many, if any. Drexel traversed to the Palestra.
That is something that makes this rivalry special. And both teams are very good.
The Battle of 33rd Street goes to Penn 53 – 49.
The Dragons got the better of the early part of the game leading 18 – 9 after one quarter. Then the Quakers would earn the advantage in the middle quarters by a 32 – 18 margin to lead 41 – 36 going into the last ten minutes. The Red and Blue won the third quarter 23 – 14 and made 9 of 13 from the floor and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc for 65% shooting. A 10 – 0 run in the third quarter tilted the game in the Quakers direction.
Drexel would mount a comeback. The game was in the balance over the last three minutes. The difference was two-points. But both teams would struggle on offense over that span. The Red and Blue got no field goals, just two free throws at the end, but the Dragons did not score over the last two-and-a-half minutes.
Penn freshman Kayla Padilla lead all scorers with 17 points. It broke a streak of three games where she scored 20 or more points. Eleah Parker, Phoebe Sterba, and Tori Crawford each scored 10 points. Crawford had a team-high 6 rebounds.
Turnovers were an issue for the Quakers who committed a season-high 25 which led to a 25 – 14 edge for the Dragons, who turned it over 14 times, in points off turnovers.
Drexel had one double-figures scorer, Bailey Greenberg who had 13 points and 8 rebounds. Keishana Washington and Kate Connolly contributed 9 points. Connolly also pulled down 8 boards.
The Quakers continue their best start in program history with an 8 – 1 record. Penn will be off until New Year’s eve when they go to Hawaii to face the University of Hawaii, then Chaminade two days later. Aloha Red and Blue!
Drexel is 6 – 5 on the season and have 10 days off until they host Maine at the DAC.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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