It will be the ultimate David versus Goliath matchup in South Bend, Ind., come December.
The Penn women’s basketball team is coming off its greatest single-season turnaround in program history, but the rebuilding Quakers will get the biggest test of this new era against Big East powerhouse Notre Dame on Dec. 2.
“This is a great opportunity for our program,” coach Mike McLaughlin told Penn Athletics. “They are at the top level of our sport. So it’s a great chance for us to play against some of the best competition the nation has to offer and at one of the nation’s most prestigious universities.”
The Fighting Irish are coming off a 31-8 season that included wins over Tennessee and Connecticut in the NCAA tournament and a trip to the National Championship game. Penn went 11-17 last year with a 5-9 Ivy record, notching 9 more wins than the previous season. This will be McLaughlin’s third season with Penn.
Despite the odds, the Red and Blue are looking forward to the chance to play one of the nation’s top teams.
“Everyone was pretty excited about Notre Dame,” senior captain Jess Knapp said. “A little taken aback at first because it’s definitely a huge challenge for us, but I think we’re going to rise to it, and we’re never going to back down.”
The game will be Penn’s second all-time against the Fighting Irish, the first being a 62-47 loss at the Palestra in 1981. Penn is just 3-32 all time against Big East opponents, including a 57-52 loss to Villanova at the Palestra last season.
“There’s not much to lose,” Knapp said. “The only thing we can do is to gain from the situation … Whatever happens, I know that we’ll compete and go in to win it.”
And while the matchup with Notre Dame is just one game in a long season, Knapp said it could have an impact on the rest of the Quakers’ schedule.
“We want to play as hard as we can and prove ourselves and really gain some respect among all the teams we’re playing,” Knapp said. “If we can have a nice performance out there, it will say a lot for our program and what we’re striving to do.”
Also on tap for the Quakers is a late-December trip to San Diego for the Surf ’N Slam Classic, with games scheduled against UNC-Greensboro and San Diego State.
