Losing streak reaches four

There were few surprises at the Palestra on Tuesday night.

The Quakers again had difficulty creating quality shots for most of the game and fell to St. Joseph’s, 60-45, for the 35th time in 36 tries all-time.

“Their guard play is very good, they’re athletic and they can shoot the three,” coach Mike McLaughlin said of the Hawks.

St. Joe’s (5-3) was indeed led by its junior guards, Katie Kuester and Michelle Baker, who combined to score 23 points.

In several ways, the game was quite even. Both teams gathered 28 rebounds. Both made five three pointers. They even attempted the same number of shots from the floor (49).

The big difference came in field goal percentage: 31 percent for Penn, 49 percent for St. Joseph’s.

The Quakers suffered another poor shooting night that can be attributed in large part to a strong defense from the Hawks. Penn’s offense repeatedly held the ball deep into the shot clock, resulting in a number of forced, contested shots.

St. Joe’s had significantly less trouble scoring and creating open looks. Even when the Quakers challenged shots, the Hawks seemed to knock them down.

“They made shots the first half — contested shots,” said McLaughlin of St. Joseph’s 60 percent first-half shooting.

Though the Quakers faced another early deficit and lost for the fourth-straight game, both McLaughlin and junior forward Jess Knapp saw positives in their performance.

“We’re in this to win,” McLaughlin said. “Overall, I thought we played solid but obviously not good enough.”

Knapp was a bright spot for the Quakers on the night, recording her second-career double-double. She scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The junior also made some big baskets during a stretch in the second half when Penn pulled to within seven.

The matchup against St. Joe’s provided Penn with its first taste of the Big 5 this year.

“We got everyone more acquainted with what the Big 5 means,” Knapp said. “That’s the way that those type of games are meant to be played.”

The Red and Blue now look ahead to their last game before a 19-day layoff. They will host Maine on Friday at the Palestra.

“I’m constantly impressed with the way we bounce back from games that aren’t our best,” Knapp said. “We’re taking little steps in the right direction.”

Knapp and her teammates have never won a Big 5 game, but they’ll have three more tries this year to take that big step.

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