The Quakers Did Not Sustain Enough Offense Against the Bulldogs
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 2/18/2022 –
The University of Pennsylvania entered the contest one and a half games behind Yale and Harvard in hopes of getting fourth place in the Ivy League Women’s Basketball standings. And with that a place in the league tournament. A chance to close the gap on Yale. But inconsistent play over forty minutes cost Penn in the 68 – 58 defeat.
Cold Spells on Offense for Both Teams
The game had dry spells on offense for both teams with the lulls damaging the Quakers offense a bit more. At the start of the game the Bulldogs got off to a hot start, the Red and Blue did not. Penn trailed 17 – 2 in the first five minutes making just one of their first six shots. Yale converted 5 of 8 and drained all three from beyond the arc to take a 26 – 11 lead after one period. The choppiness on offense turned towards the Eli in the second quarter as they would score just 11 points and missed their last six shots over 4:26 of the period.
As the Quakers pressure defense livened up, so did the offense as the team closed the quarter with a 9 – 0 run to trail 37 – 32 at halftime. Defense turned into offense.
The trend continued into the third quarter and the Red and Blue got to within 39 – 38 at the 7:34 mark.
“We got out in the half court, we got layups, we got transition, “said Penn Coach Mike McLaughlin. “That’s a takeaway. We were able to change the momentum of the game. We just couldn’t sustain it and fell back in the same hole.”
Then the dreaded dry spell returned to the Quakers who made 3 of 13 shots in the third quarter, and none of 6 from the floor in a four minute stretch early. Yale made back-to-back-to-back three pointers, two by Christen McCann and one from Jenna Clark to increase the lead to double-digits again. In the fourth quarter the Eli pulled away to a 61 – 42 lead. Then, they went cold. The last basket for the Bulldogs came at the 5:10 mark. Penn made an attempt to get back, but Yale closed the game making 7 of 10 free throws.
“Either they had the flow or we had the flow,” McLaughlin said. “Outside of our flows I didn’t think we were particularly good on the offensive end. Outside of those momentum flows, we struggled.”
Scoring Summary
Two Yale players contributed 18 points. Camilla Emsbo got points inside and McCann got them from outside. Emsbo pulled down 13 rebounds. Klara Astrom scored 13 points, three baskets form distance. Clark filled the stat sheet getting 11 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds. Alex Cade grabbed 12 caroms, 6 on offense and 6 off the defensive glass.
Jordan Obi lead the Quakers with 16 points and Kayla Padilla added 15 points and 5 assists. Both players shot a combined 11 of 29 from the floor and 8 of 9 from the charity stripe. Kennedy Suttle would up just shy of a double-double getting 9 points and 8 rebounds
Ivy Playoff Chances for the Red and Blue
Penn sits in fifth place in the Ivy League with a 4 – 6 record. Yale moves up to third place at 7 – 4 in the Ancient Eight. Harvard is in fourth place at 6 – 5 a game and a half ahead. The Ivy Weekend continues as Brown visits next. The chances of a playoff berth diminished with this loss.
“It’s tough, no doubt,” said McLaughlin. “What we need to do is leave this one here and get on a one-game winning streak tomorrow. This one hurt a little bit. We just didn’t play well enough against a quality opponent. There were too many breakdowns.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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