Confidence has eluded the women’s basketball team for much of the last few seasons.
Finally, this year, it’s building.
The Quakers defeated Lafayette, 59-52, on Sunday afternoon in Easton, Pennsylvania. The victory gives Penn (5-5) its first three game winning streak since the 2008-2009 season and drops the Leopards to two games below .500 (6-8).
After going down 10-2 early in the game, the Quakers surged back, trailing just two points at halftime.
Senior Jerin Smith, who was a factor for the Red and Blue the entire game, tied Lafayette’s LaKeisha Wright with a game-high 16 points. Smith ignited Penn’s offense in the first half, scoring eight quick points off the bench. The Quakers went on a 12-4 run during that stretch, which fittingly culminated with a steal and layup by Smith to tie the game at 14-14.
“It always feels great to be a spark off the bench, especially when your team didn’t necessarily have that spark coming into the game,” Smith said.
“I thought Jerin Smith played her best game in the two years that I’ve been her coach,” head coach Mike McLaughlin added. “She had an unbelievable will to win today.”
Junior Jess Knapp and freshman Meghan McCullough pulled their weight, posting a combined 25 points and 15 rebounds to help earn the victory.
Meanwhile, freshman Alyssa Baron was hobbled for most of the game but still logged 32 minutes of playing time. McLaughlin anticipates that she will be good to go when the team returns to practice on Tuesday.
Defensively, Penn was stout all game, putting the clamps on Lafayette’s 6-foot-7 center Danielle Fiacco. She had only two points on 1-of-9 shooting.
Smith credited McLaughlin with a strong defensive scheme, saying, “We scouted them and we watch[ed] film on them and our coach told us how to play her. It was very effective.”
At 5-5, the Quakers find themselves dramatically improved from a year ago as they enter a particularly grueling stretch of their season. With opponents like Princeton, Villanova and Virginia all within the next two weeks, Penn will look to carry its confidence and momentum forward.
“I’m not really sure the last time Penn women’s basketball had a three-game winning streak. It’s giving us a lot of confidence right now,” Smith said. “The more confidence, the better we play. Hopefully this win will give us the confidence and self-esteem that we need in order to come out really strong at the end of the week.”
Though the winning streak will be under heavy fire in the coming weeks, McLaughlin likes where his team is right now and how they are playing.
“I just think so much of the players’ effort. It’s really starting to pay off and I’m really happy for them,” McLaughlin said. “But there’s a lot more growth to be had and a lot of work to do.”
The Quakers will next play Princeton in New Jersey on Jan. 8.
