The biggest obstacle to Penn’s women’s team Saturday afternoon may have been the cold at Dartmouth: The team bus wouldn’t start to take the players from their motel to Leede Arena.
The motel shuttle bus did the job, though, and the Quakers took care of business, beating the Big Green handily, 55-31.
At 1-13 (0-2 Ivy), Dartmouth is the underdog every time it takes the court at this point. Penn’s shooting hands were as cold as the New England afternoon. The Quakers (7-7, 2-0) hit 32.8% from the field and just 14.3% from three. But Dartmouth was worse: 27.7% from the field, 13% from three. Both sides might have done better playing with their mittens on.
Dartmouth started the game warm, if not hot, running the score to 7-2 before stopping cold. The next Dartmouth basket came at the buzzer to end the first quarter to end an 18-0 Penn run. The Big Green, now averaging under 45 points per game, never hit double digits in a quarter against Penn.
The Quakers can claim some credit for that. Their full-court pressure and half-court zone yielded nine steals and contributed to 23 Dartmouth turnovers.
Penn junior guard Kayla Padilla, returning after two games out of the lineup, was merely mortal in scoring a game-high 13 points. Despite flashes of brilliance, she shot an un-KP 5-for-17 from the field. Sophomore forward Jordan Obi had 12 points and six rebounds.
Bench players have played major roles in most of Penn’s recent games, and junior guard Sydnei Caldwell led the way this time. In 19 minutes, she was a thoroughly annoying defender in the press, made some nice moves to the basket and sank four of eight shots from the field.
Dartmouth’s brightest light was Rosie Jennings, who went 4-for-5 for nine points along with three rebounds. This was her first game facing Obi, but we can hope for a long-term rivalry. Both are 6-foot-1 sophomore forwards in their first college seasons. Obi, from California, is the more polished player, but Jennings, from Australia, will get her chances as coach Adrienne Shibles tries to build a winning team. Twelve of the 13 players on Dartmouth’s roster have started at least one game this season.
The Big Green will play at Harvard on Monday, while the Quakers will host Princeton at the Palestra, weather and buses permitting.