Though the Penn women’s basketball team fought its way to within five points of Big 5 opponent Villanova last night, the Quakers couldn’t keep up with the Wildcats’ aggressive offense.
The Red and Blue succumbed to Villanova, 57-52.
Penn (5-7, 0-1 Ivy) came out of the gate slow — scoreless for the first four minutes of play — and fell behind the Wildcats by 14 points.
Penn leads the Ivy League in scoring defense, but Villanova (8-8) dominated from outside, hitting five of their first seven attempts from beyond the arc. ’Nova finished the night shooting 45.8 percent overall.
“They’re a pretty unique team in that every girl on the team can hit a three-pointer,” senior Erin Power said. “If they can get the ball moving they’re bound to get open shots.”
Power did her part to try and limit the Villanova offense, tallying five steals on the night.
Though Penn fell behind early, the Quakers got back into the game, closing the gap to ten at the end of the first half.
“I thought we had a stretch there where they made a lot of shots, and I thought we adjusted well,” coach Mike McLaughlin said.
A rally in the second half got the Quakers within six with 14:24 to play, but Villanova pulled away, scoring the next ten points to extend its lead to 50-34. Though Penn scored ten of the next 11 points, it ultimately couldn’t keep up.
“They’re a tough competition,” Power said. “We’re not satisfied with losing by five, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
Three-time Ivy Rookie of the Week Alyssa Baron continued to dominate on the court, leading the team and tying her career-high with 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting. The freshman was also the only player of the night to play all 40 minutes.
Other than Baron, however, the Quakers lacked the offensive power needed to match Villanova. Baron was the only member of the Red and Blue to score more than ten points — Jerin Smith finished behind her with eight — while the Wildcats’ offense boasted three players in double figures.
Villanova sophomore guard Rachel Roberts led the team with 17 points.
Junior Jess Knapp had a team-high six rebounds for the Quakers, though she shot just 1-for-8 in 33 minutes of play.
After winning three straight over winter break, Penn has now dropped two in a row after losing the Ivy season opener to Princeton on Saturday.
Things won’t get any easier for the Quakers, as they face Virginia Saturday, a top competitor in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference.
