Coming off a 74-63 loss against New Jersey Institute of Technology last weekend, the Quakers face Niagara at the Palestra today for the first time in program history.
The Purple Eagles are off to a difficult start this season, losing their first five games, as well as breaking the 60-point mark just once this season.
This stagnant offense may help the Quakers pick up their third victory of the season to surpass last year’s record of 2-26.
Both of Penn’s wins this year have come when its opponent was held to less than 60 points, while the team has lost the last 20 games in which it has allowed its opponents to reach that mark.
Against Niagara, the Red and Blue offense will be aided by a strong freshman class which has already boosted the team’s scoring.
Guard Alyssa Baron was named Ivy Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks after a career-best 20 points against NJIT on Saturday. Baron, who also picked up three rebounds and three assists against the Highlanders, and the rest of Penn’s offense average 7.4 more points than the Purple Eagles.
Freshman Meghan McCullough has also stood out for the Quakers this season, averaging four rebounds and eight points per game.
Though the Quakers offense has been stronger this season than last, averaging 9.9 more points per game, coach Mike McLaughlin still sees room for improvement.
“I think we can make a few adjustments, keeping the ball in front of us and stopping penetration,” the second-year coach said. “We need to improve our half-court defense and our transition defense as well.”
Like Penn, Niagara also has a young team, boasting five rookies.
Baron and McCullough will face off against Niagara’s own freshman star Katie Gattuso. The only freshman to start for the Purple Eagles in their season opener, Gattuso earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honors for her performance.
In last week’s match against St. Bonaventure, Gattuso led the Purple Eagles in scoring with 15 points in addition to earning six rebounds and shooting 7-for-8 at the line.
The freshman is one of three Niagara players to average double-digit scoring. And given that in Penn’s games this season, the team that leads at halftime seals the win, the Penn defense will need to shut down the Purple Eagle’s offensive efforts early in order to move past the benchmark it set last year.
However, McLaughlin doesn’t seem to be concerned with the team’s record right now.
“We haven’t reached anything yet,” he said. “I want them to enjoy winning games but … we’ll worry about the wins and losses at the end of the year.”
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