The question going into their game Monday against Princeton was whether the Penn women, who have been inconsistent, could put together their best game against the Ivies’ best. The Quakers played well, but the Tigers played so much better, winning 70-50.
Junior guard Julia Cunningham led the way for Princeton with 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-8 from deep — usually from the wing — and snagging six rebounds as well. Abby Meyers and Ellie Mitchell both hit double-doubles: 11 points and 10 rebounds for Meyers, 10 and 12 for Mitchell.
Kayla Padilla led three Quakers in double figures with 16 points; Mia Lakstigala had 12, and Jordan Obi 11.
Limiting Padilla below her season scoring average of 21.7 points per game was key for the Tigers.
The drama left the Palestra early, when Princeton (12-4, 4-0 Ivy) rode an 18-0 run to a 24-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers shot an insane 11-for-19 in that quarter; Penn (7-8, 2-1) sputtered at 4-for-14. Penn pretty much kept pace the rest of the way but never got closer than within eight of the lead.
Where the Quakers have had an up-and-down season, the Tigers have been a model of consistency, and Monday was no exception. The passes were sharp, the defense alert, the shooting accurate, the rebounding dominant. The results were stark in the box score: Princeton led in offensive rebounds, 14-6, in second-chance points, 21-2, and in points in the paint, 34-22.
Princeton has a height advantage over Penn this year. The Tigers clogged the lane and frustrated Penn’s forwards. Obi and fellow starting forward Kennedy Suttle went a combined 2-for-11 on two-point shots, and no frontcourt player off the bench scored a basket. (It was a painful game for the Penn bench. All its scoring came from three Lizzy Groetsch free throws, and Sydnei Caldwell went down and out with a rolled ankle.)
Penn managed just seven points in the final 10 minutes. Princeton coach Carla Berube got all 14 of her players into the action.
Penn is back on the road Saturday against Yale, while Princeton plays at Dartmouth. The Quakers and Tigers are scheduled to wrap up their regular season playing one another again March 4 at Jadwin. We’ll see then whether Penn can lift its game to Princeton’s level.
Ivy Hoops Online writer Toothless Tiger (George Clark) contributed to this story.