Just when it seemed that the women’s basketball team was about to break through, things took a turn for the worse.
After suffering its closest loss of the season to Lafayette Wednesday, Penn fell 65-61 to Navy yesterday in Annapolis , Md. With the loss, the Quakers are officially off to their worst start since they went 0-22 to start the 1995-96 season.
Up until this point, it was deja vu for the Red and Blue. For the second consecutive year, the squad was 0-6 before tipping off against the Midshipmen (7-4). Last season, however, Penn (0-7, 0-0 Ivy) pulled out the win to move to 1-6 — this year it was not so lucky.
“Towards the end of the game, we just have a fire lit under us, we just go with it, all or nothing,” sophomore forward Jess Knapp said. “Then, obviously the end result wasn’t what we hoped it was going to be.”
Although her team did not come away with a win, Knapp achieved a personal victory of her own. The Carlstadt, N.J., native tallied a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds.
“We as team collectively found that the best way to put the ball in the hoop was just to run,” she said. “I think that’s where I got most of my points from: transition points.”
According to Knapp, the Quakers were able to run the ball and capitalize on their one-on-one matchups. Junior guard Kim Adams did just that, as she too had a career game with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Per usual, Sarah Bucar played the entire game and scored 11 points of her own. The senior co-captain has played all but three minutes this season and leads the Ivy League with 277 minutes.
Despite the fact that three Penn players scored in the double digits, the Quakers could not establish consistent momentum.
“You’re not on from behind, and if the other team makes one or two plays, it kind of breaks your back,” coach Mike McLaughlin said, “and that’s what kind of happened today.”
The Red and Blue started the game off with a strong defensive stand, holding the Midshipmen to just one basket nine minutes into the game.
The lead did not last long as Navy’s Cassie Consedine hit a three to put the Mids on the board. The 6-foot-3 junior guard went on to score 11 of her 13 points in the first half.
Penn’s defense collapsed with 5:12 remaining in the first half, as it surrendered 13 points right before halftime.
“We do a pretty good job of coming out right off the bat with intense in-your-face defense,” Knapp said. “People get a little tired and we kind of get different combinations of people in. We can’t defend everything.”
In the second half, the Quakers narrowed Navy’s lead to within five points, but the Midshipmen were quick to retaliate and take the largest lead of the game, 49-34.
The Red and Blue fought back once again, scoring back-to-back baskets to get within 11 points. They continued their offensive run and with just five minutes left, the Quakers were only down by eight.
But, unfortunately for Penn, in the remaining minutes Navy scored the points that the Quakers sorely needed to tie the match.
“[When] it comes down to it, if you make an error, you just gotta find something in yourself to get yourself [to] the end of the court,” Knapp said. “Do it not for yourself — do it for your teammates.”
