One team’s losing streak was going to end last night at the Palestra, and with slightly under two minutes left in the first half of the Penn women’s basketball team’s game against Lafayette, it looked like it could be the Quakers’.
The Leopards — who had lost five straight entering the contest — held a slim three-point lead over the winless Red and Blue. Yet two free throws by Lafayette junior Lauren Jackson with 1:52 left sparked a Leopards’ six-point run. Instead of entering the locker room down a manageable three points, the Quakers found themselves behind by nine.
For a Penn team that entered the contest averaging only 41.0 points per game, a 30-21 halftime deficit was just too much to overcome. The Quakers lost, 62-56, extending their season-opening losing streak to six games.
“The last three minutes of the [first] half were really big,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin said. “They started making a few shots and we had a mental lapse.”
Those lapses proved to be a deciding factor in a game that, according to McLaughlin, was entirely winnable against the 2-6 Leopards.
The Quakers went 19-for-32 from the free throw line, compared to Lafayette’s 20-for-23 mark, including Jackson’s perfect 15-for-15 performance.
“We have got to get better at free throw shooting,” a visibly disappointed Sarah Bucar said. “We have very little margin for error, so when it comes to things like free throw shooting, we just have to do better.”
Despite the large halftime deficit and Lafayette’s strong start to the second half that put the Leopards up by 14 points with slightly over ten minutes left to play, the Quakers were not entirely out of it.
Trailing 46-38 as the clock read 6:37, Penn found its shooting touch and embarked on an eight-point run to pull within three following two back-to-back three pointers by Bucar.
“We made a nice run at them in the second half to make it close, but in the end we weren’t able to overcome the little things,” McLaughlin said.
Bucar finished with a career-high 25 points.
The 5-foot-6 Bucar attempted 18 shots during the night, as Penn counted on its senior captain to bear the offensive load.
“I am doing what the team is calling on me to do,” Bucar said. “I’d like to get more players involved offensively, and usually our scoring is more evenly distributed.”
In a game that was predicted to be fought and won on the boards, the Quakers edged their opponents, out-rebounding the Leopards 40-34.
But defensive breakdowns down the stretch of both halves ultimately cost the Red and Blue, none more so than a loose ball recovered by Lafayette forward Elizabeth Virgin with 1:17 left in the contest.
Virgin was able to call a quick timeout and ensure the Leopards a critical possession to close out the game.
“We have to play with a sense of urgency the whole game,” Bucar said, quoting teammate Amy Donovan’s halftime words. “We can’t just pour it on in the last five minutes and expect a miracle to happen.”
