Penn women's basketball beat a team ranked 20th in the RPI while hardly pulling out of first gear on Friday night, with a 63-43 demolition of Harvard taking the Quakers to the top of the Ivy League. Penn never looked in danger of defeat, and stars across the court led the way. Here are our ratings for Friday night:
STARTERS
Anna Ross, G — 10/10
Tonight, Anna Ross could do no wrong. With a team-leading 16 points on the night, Ross was fearless when driving to the paint. She was Penn’s most difficult to guard player tonight, due in large part to her versatility. Those who did try to shut her down simply sent her to the line, where she was just as dangerous. Most importantly, though, Ross was a playmaker tonight, and showed off quickness and vision which made her teammates look good and in turn, made this win look easy.
Kasey Chambers, G — 6/10
Chambers’ feisty coverage at the top of the Quakers' zone was a persistent annoyance to Harvard’s playmakers as expected. Her overzealousness caused confusion that provided the opposition with some unguarded three-pointers which amounted to the closest thing Harvard had to rally on the night. That said, a Chambers jumper always seems to contribute to her team’s spirit vastly more than it does to the scoreboard, and she exemplified that tonight with two perfectly timed treys to stop a Crimson run in its tracks.
Sydney Stipanovich, C — 7/10
Stipanovich was a commanding presence underneath the hoop tonight, and it was due in large part to her lock-down-the-paint defense that Penn was able to hold the Crimson to 12 points in the first half. It seemed as if she had a hand in every scuffle for the ball, and her post moves made her a very difficult matchup.
Beth Brzozowski, G — 6/10
Brzozowski wasn’t the impact player we’ve seen in the past few weeks tonight. She only made one non-free throw shot the whole game - though it was a beauty. Without Lauren Whitlatch on the court, Brzozowski is a guard the team is going to need to lean on during future close conference games even though this thankfully wasn’t one of them.
Michelle Nwokedi, F — 9/10
Nwokedi put in work and delivered results tonight. Leading the team in rebounds and rivaling Ross in points, Nwokedi’s game revolved around a close relationship with the glass both on defense and offense, where she repeatedly finished through with soft, finessed baskets off the glass despite tough coverage. Her presence in this matchup turned it from a win to a blowout.
BENCH
Ashley Russell — 7/10
Russell was only on the court for 15 minutes tonight, but she put in a half’s worth of work. She played extremely physically, and fought for every loose ball in sight.
Princess Aghayere — NR
Six points in eight minutes? We’ll take it. Aghayere made the most of the time on the court and was an extremely reliable substitute, as usual. Unfortunately, her short time on the floor failed to qualify her for a rating.
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