Penn women’s basketball is off to the best eight-game start to a season in the program’s history, pulling off an upset at Miami to extend its winning streak to six games.
Credit: Courtesy of Eric Dolan , Courtesy of Penn AthleticsDown by one with 11.3 seconds left, Penn women’s basketball setup for a crucial offensive possession.
And thanks to a defensive miscue by Miami, junior forward Katy Allen was able to score the game-winning layup with 5.6 seconds remaining.
“I felt like my [defender] jumped out as if she was ready for me to pass,” Allen said. “So I decided to just take it in.”
After blowing a double digit lead in the second half, the Quakers were able to keep their win streak intact, pulling off a 67-66 upset over Miami.
The game was a homecoming for senior captain Alyssa Baron as she played in her hometown for the first-ever matchup between these two squads. Penn (6-2) came into today’s game 0-13 all-time vs. ACC opponents.
Early on, it seemed as if those roles were reversed as Penn shot lights out in the first half and raced to a 16 point lead late in the half. The Quakers built their lead via a hot shooting display making six of their season-high 11 treys in the first half while shooting 56 percent from the field in the opening frame.
“We really practiced these past few weeks on our three-point shooting,” Baron said. “In this game we were able to show what a good shooting team we really are.”
“I do believe we are a good three point shooting team,” coach Mike McLaughlin added. “We’ve just been inconsistent.”
Miami (8-5) meanwhile struggled to shoot all-around in the first half with a dismal 33 percent from the field while also going just 4-for-10 from the free throw line.
Down 14 at the half, Miami came out with a vengeance to open the final 20 minutes of the game. By using their athleticism to dominate inside, the Hurricanes were able to claw their way back into the game with 20 points in the paint compared to just six for Penn.
Miami utilized a fullcourt pressure defense which nagged Penn all game. In the second half, the defense started to pay dividends as the Hurricanes were able to force turnovers and easy fast break points.
And after being down 14 at the break, UM took their first lead of the night off an Adrienne Motley layup with 1:53 left in the game.
But after Miami stretched lead to four with 1:14 left to play, senior guard Meghan McCullough hit an important three-pointer to set the stage for Allen’s late-game heroics.
“[McCullough] just runs the show,” McLaughlin said. “She’s poised”.
The win pushes the Red and Blue’s win streak to six games and with Ivy play looming just 10 days away, the Quakers have a lot of momentum to build on before the matchup with Princeton.
“We’re really looking forward to [the Princeton game]” Baron said.
By notching their first ever victory over an ACC opponent with the win, the Quakers were able to withstand the comeback and proved that they don’t get rattled in crucial late-game situations.
The Red and Blue will be back in action when they take on Norfolk State at the Palestra on Sunday.
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