The Penn women’s basketball team got swept away by the Doubletree White Invitational in the Windy City.
The Quakers lost to Iowa State, 78-38, Friday and to Northwestern, 61-39, the following day.
The Red and Blue (0-5) had a 13-12 advantage over the Cyclones (3-1) nine minutes into the game. But Iowa State’s three-point bombardment ended the lead pretty quickly.
“Every time we had a little bit of momentum, they spread the floor,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin said. “They hit quite a few threes in a row which kinda broke our back a little bit.”
The Quakers broke down as the Cyclones netted five three-pointers within five minutes.
Not only did Penn struggle to defend outside the arc, but it also had issues handling 6-foot-7 center Anna Prins. Though the Quakers focused the majority of their attention on the rookie, Prins still tallied a game-high 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
“She impacted [the game] because she forced us to be aware of her at all times,” McLaughlin said. “If she got it real close to the rim, she was pretty unstoppable down there.”
The next day’s matchup didn’t fare so well for Penn either, as it fell to the Wildcats (5-1) by two. This time, however, it wasn’t the three-pointers that gave the Quakers trouble.
Penn had a height disadvantage, as the average stature of its roster is 5-foot-9 — compared to Northwestern’s 6-foot mean height. The Wildcats were able to score 28 of their points from the paint.
“They had 6-foot-5 girls on the front line, so we struggled to score the ball around the basket,” McLaughlin said. “They forced us to take a lot of shots from the perimeter.”
The Wildcats’ style of defense worked — they held the Quakers to just 16 points in the first half where Penn had a field goal shooting percentage of 27.3.
Northwestern tallied a 42.4 field goal shooting percentage in the first half. Although the Wildcats scored 28 points in the second half, the Quakers cut down their opponents’ field goal shooting percentage to 29.6.
Penn senior co-captain Sarah Bucar claims that, after halftime, her squad played the best defense it has all season.
“We were communicating better than we ever have, we were hustling more than we ever have,” Bucar said. “We just seemed like we knew where each other was on the floor, definitely a team effort on the defensive end today.”
While she credits her teammates for their support, Bucar stood apart, receiving All-Tournament honors.
The Trafford, Pa., native scored five points and had three rebounds against Iowa State, then pulled out a team-high 10 points and two rebounds against Northwestern.
“She got a well-deserved honor because it’s not always about how many points you score, it’s how you run the team and how you play the game,” McLaughlin said. “Against this great competition, to be recognized as one of the top players in this tournament, it’s an honor and it’s well-deserved.”
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