The women’s basketball team kicked off the Battle of 33rd Street Friday night with an evening bout at Drexel.
Penn got out to an early 9-0 lead, and it seemed as if they would take the first installation of the weekend doubleheader between the two schools, but the Dragons responded with an 18-0 run of their own and never looked back after that, winning 62-31.
“When they made shots, we just didn’t handle it well,” coach Mike McLaughlin said. The win improves Drexel’s continued dominance over Penn (1-1) to four straight wins since 2007, and 10-4 all-time.
Drexel (2-0) executed a complex defensive scheme, employing constantly-changing zone defenses and a suffocating 2-1-2 full-court press. Their defense led to a flurry of broken plays and flustered the Quakers’ offense, negating their inside game.
“When we opened with the lead, we kind of fell back, and then they went on a run and we never recovered,” junior Jess Knapp said. “They capitalized on every mistake we made.”
A plethora of turnovers and rebounds off of long, forced Penn jump shots allowed Drexel to execute their patented transition game, capitalizing on wide-open layups in transition and open jumpers off of constant screens and cuts.
While Drexel’s offense ran a clinic on the Red and Blue, the Quakers’ attack showed signs of a young team, heavily relying on a simple three-woman weave around the perimeter as their main offense.
When asked how this squad’s offense compared to that of the 2-26 team of last season, McLaughlin noted, “At this point, I think we’re a little bit behind where we were last season, offensively.”
Penn had only five assists to Drexel’s 16.
Freshman Alyssa Baron led the Quakers with eight points and four assists on the night, while Knapp, Caroline Nicholson and Brianna Bradford each contributed five points.
Defensively, senior Erin Power pulled down five rebounds and had three steals for the Quakers, who forced the Dragons into 17 turnovers.
McLaughlin also added that the team “wasn’t really ready for the magnitude of a Philadelphia game.”
“[The team] just didn’t play well — from senior to freshmen,” McLaughlin said.
With the loss, Penn falls to 1-1 and will try to get back on track Tuesday at Rider.
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