Coaches have plenty of good reasons for scheduling events like the Penn women’s Friday afternoon game — let’s not call it a contest — against Gwynedd Mercy at the Palestra. Drama just isn’t one of them.
Let’s get the basics out of the way: Penn 95, G. Mercy 38. The Quakers put 17 players on the court (no, not all at once), and 16 of them scored. The Penn reserves outscored the Penn starters, who in turn outscored Gwynedd Mercy, which to be fair played well for a Division III team facing a bigger, faster, more talented Division I team.
With conference play in the 2022-23 Ivy League men’s basketball season fast approaching, let’s take a look back at the nonconference results for each team and examine each program – listed by season winning percentage:
Ivy Hoops Online editor Mike Tony is joined by IHO writer Rob Browne to discuss the highlights of Ivy men’s and women’s basketball through this season’s nonconference slate, what to watch for as league play starts this weekend and much more:
Kayla Padilla capped a milestone day with a left-handed drive through three defenders and led the Penn women to a raucous 62-61 win over Temple Sunday at the Palestra.
The basket with 6.8 seconds left gave Padilla 28 points on the day and 1,013 in her COVID-shortened career. The Quakers (6-5) head into a break for finals and Christmas with a five-game winning streak — sure to hit six, let’s face it, December 30 against Gwynedd Mercy before the start of Ivy play.
Jordan Dingle simply can’t be stopped offensively, notching 30 points in Penn’s win over Temple Saturday even amid a cold outside shooting spell by attacking the Owls off the bounce. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)
Penn closed out the meaningful portion of its nonconference schedule on a joyful note Saturday, riding a 24-4 game-ending run to down Temple at the Palestra, 77-57.
For the Quakers (6-7, 1-3 Big 5), the win was their second over a team ranked in the KenPom top 100 this season. The Owls, who were looking to wrap up a perfect run through the Big 5, entered Saturday ranked 92nd by KenPom.
As usual, junior guard Jordan Dingle played the hero. Dingle outshone Temple’s Khalif Battle, a fellow 20+ point per game scorer, all afternoon. After Battle tied the game at 53 with an and-one drive, Dingle responded in turn with a tough finish through contact from Battle to give Penn a 55-53 lead at the under-eight media timeout.
Dingle converted his and-one free throw coming out of the break, and the Quakers never looked back.
Penn will now take a much-needed three-week break for finals before returning on Dec. 28 for a tune-up game ahead of Ivy League play against Wilkes, a Division III school.
Here are three key lessons from Saturday’s game Quakers fans can glean as the team enters a long layoff:
There being no mercy rule in basketball, coaches on the comfortable end of a lead will pull their starters and give untried freshmen real-life college playing time.
When Penn’s Mike McLaughlin did that Thursday night against St. Francis Brooklyn, the game was only three-quarters over — and the Penn reserves made the lead even bigger, closing out a 78-44 romp.
It wasn’t just that St. Francis (1-9) was victim material, though it’s a young team. The Quakers played well enough to beat any team on their schedule, ending the drama early with a 33-point first quarter, knocking down three after three. Penn sank 12 of its 17 first-quarter shots, a stunning 70.6%. The pace of long balls eased up after that, but Penn’s threes — 15 on 37 attempts for the night, or 40.5% — were enough by themselves to outscore everything St. Francis put into the basket.
Penn coach Steve Donahue’s frontcourt rotation seems less clear after Penn’s loss at Villanova Wednesday night. Donahue is making do without sophomore guard George Smith (40) or junior guard Clark Slajchert. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)
Playing in front of a national TV audience on CBS Sports Network, Penn delivered a game, albeit losing, performance against Villanova in a 70-59 loss at the Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night.
A 13-0 run gave Villanova a 10-point lead late in the first half it would not surrender. Despite the best efforts of guard Jordan Dingle — who scored 23 points in the second half and appeared generally unguardable — the Quakers (5-7) never cut their deficit any closer than six points in the second half.
It felt like there were numerous opportunities when the Quakers had a chance to truly make the Wildcats sweat. But Penn just couldn’t quite get the big shot or stop it needed.
Their last, best shot came with about five minutes left in the game. After Villanova’s Caleb Daniels split a pair of free throws, Dingle found senior guard Jonah Charles in the left corner for an open three-pointer in transition. Charles, a three-point specialist, couldn’t convert the look, which would have pulled Penn within five points. The Quakers never seriously threatened after.
It’s obvious that Penn desperately needs guard Clark Slajchert back. The junior, who averages more than 17 points per game, sat out his second consecutive contest with a knee injury. Penn coach Steve Donahue told the Daily Pennsylvanian that Slajchert has a bad bone bruise and is likely out until after Penn’s three-week finals break.
What could Penn fans take away from Wednesday’s tilt?
For the third game in a row, the Penn women were facing a team that beat them last season. And for the third game in a row, they came away with the win.
This time, though, it wasn’t easy. And it required good play up and down the lineup: Four Penn starters scored in double figures, and forward Floor Toonders posted her second double-double in a row.
Jordan Dingle is playing at another level for Penn while shouldering one of the greatest offensive burdens in the country. (Photo by Erica Denhoff)
Penn’s matchup with Fran Dunphy-helmed Big 5 foe La Salle on Saturday was a disturbing replay of its Wednesday loss to Saint Joseph’s.
Again, the Quakers let a second half lead slip away against an opponent they were outplaying.
Again, they needed heroics from the incomparable Jordan Dingle to force a tie and reach overtime.
And again, they squandered a late opportunity to tie the game in overtime. This time, freshman Cam Thrower, playing extended minutes for the first time all season, missed a decent three-point look with seven seconds to go in the extra frame which would have tied the contest.
This should not have been an easy game for Penn women’s basketball.
This is a challenging year in which the team is trying to regain a spot among the Ivy leaders, projected to repeat in finishing outside the top half of the league. Thursday night’s opponent, Stony Brook, has a winning record and beat the Quakers a year ago.
