Princeton, N.J. — It has been nearly six years since Penn women’s basketball last defeated Princeton — a time before the pandemic began and before any of women’s basketball’s seniors had even committed to Penn.
Friday night, the Quakers fell once again at Princeton with a final score of 69-50, extending their losing streak against the Tigers (19-2, 7-1 Ivy) to 16 games.
Aiming to start the second half of Ivy play right, the Quakers (13-8, 3-5 Ivy) came with high hopes after last weekend’s stunning upset against then-first seed Columbia. Although the game seemed competitive at the beginning — Penn even leading by two at halftime — a 10-point deficit created in the third quarter could not be made up, resulting in another loss for the Quakers.
Here’s how it went down.
Too many empty possessions
The Quakers looked productive early on in the game, pushing the pace on offense, which led to quick transition buckets. Junior guard Mataya Gayle helped set the offensive tone with her speed, holding against the Tigers’ constant offensive attacks, which came mainly on the perimeter. Penn’s pace helped dismantle Princeton’s defense in the second quarter, with the Red and Blue outscoring the Orange and Black 19-13.
However, the lead unraveled in the third quarter, as Penn struggled to recreate the offensive momentum of the first half, which led to turnovers, forced shots, and missed opportunities. Princeton’s heightened physicality created a suffocating defense that even Penn’s top scorers could not penetrate. As Penn’s possessions grew more frantic, Princeton showed more composure.
With the Quakers’ offense stalling and the Tigers accumulating three-pointers, Princeton outscored Penn 24-13 in the third quarter — an insurmountable deficit for the rest of the game.
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Lack of communication on zone defense
What proved to be a successful defense against Columbia crumbled against Princeton.
Frequent miscommunication on defensive rotations led to wide-open looks for the Tigers on the perimeter, widening the already large gap in points. Late rotations also created mismatches, that Princeton players like guard Madison St. Rose and guard/forward Olivia Hutcherson recognized and quickly leveraged by attacking the basket.
“Yeah, they’re a really good team. They have tons of players that can get hot at any point of time. I thought our defense got a little lazy in the second half, I think that comes with fatigue.” senior guard Simone Sawyer wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “But they made some really tough shots, they are all great players, so credit to them”
The decisive blow to Penn’s hopes for a win came from the never-ending corner threes and other perimeter shots from the Tigers, a result of the Quakers’ inability to apply defensive pressure.
Sawyer stands out
Sawyer saw great minutes, finishing with 16 points alongside Gayle. In moments when it appeared like Princeton had already secured the win, Sawyer somehow revived Penn’s chances with timely shots and clutch defense.
“Our defense leads to offense, we talk about that a lot,” Sawyer wrote. “I like to get a lot of my points off transition, my teammates, as always, do a good job of finding me and getting me the ball where I want it.”
Sawyer executed well on both ends of the floor, especially when leading the team in playing with more physicality, a role that coach Mike McLaughlin has entrusted her with.
“I have a lot of experience playing out there, and I am not the strongest but I definitely use my athleticism to my advantage,” Sawyer wrote. “I also do think a little bit of it is having a fearless mentality, and going up strong whether you get fouled, or miss it to just keep going at your opponent.”
While Sawyer could not singlehandedly change the outcome of this game, her contributions were definitely one of the positives that helped Penn stay in the game for so long.
“I think that coach wants us to play hard and have effort for the full 40 minutes,” Sawyer added. “I tried my best to give that when I was out there, with deflections, getting to my spots …”
The Quakers will be back on the road to face Cornell this upcoming Friday, Feb. 13, in a game that determines their chances for Ivy Madness play.
