Saint Joseph’s gave Penn women’s basketball a reality check Tuesday night at the Palestra. After the Quakers’ comfortable season-opening victory Saturday over Marist, the undefeated Hawks cut them down, 72-48.
The Hawks have run up 20-plus-point margins of victory in each of their first three games (including at Yale). Their top scorers from last year have returned, joined by grad student Chloe Welch and freshman Gabby Casey, two of the five Hawks who hit double figures at Penn. Sophomore forward Laura Ziegler led the way with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
How good are these Hawks offensively? Well, in the first quarter, they hit a third of their shots, including 1-for-3 from three, and the Quakers kept pace. In the second quarter, St. Joe’s hit half of its shots, including 2-for-4 from three (the killer being a buzzer-beater from just inside half-court to leave Penn seven points down). In the third quarter: 57% overall, 40% of threes. In the final quarter, 75% on all shots, including 3-for-4 on threes.
This is the sort of shooting success that most teams achieve only during REM sleep. Penn can dream of better nights, but when the Quakers are awake, they remember that they have to replace the firepower of Kayla Padilla, who graduated in May and took her skills and verve to USC to use her final year of eligibility (and get a master’s degree).
In her place are promising young players, perhaps most notably freshman point guard Mataya Gayle. Her Atlanta-area high school career (four years as a track star plus 2,000-plus points and 532 assists on the basketball court) suggests she can become as explosive and versatile as Padilla. And on Tuesday, playing 39 of the 40 minutes, she led the Quakers with 14 points and three assists. Junior Stina Almqvist, who had a standout game against Marist, collected 13 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Penn is hobbled by the injury that has kept senior forward Floor Toonders off the court for the start of the season; it’s not hard to imagine how her presence on defense, especially, would have made life a little harder for St. Joe’s. But Penn managed to hit just 32% of its shots — not good enough against any opponent, let alone one that can’t seem to miss.
Some of this is no doubt a failure to get the gears going properly early in the season, or a struggle to mesh with teammates in game situations. Guard Simone Sawyer, who displayed quickness and shooting talent vividly in her first season last year, hit a three in Tuesday’s early going and nothing else from the field — 1-for-9. The Quakers registered six assists for their 20 buckets. Compare that to the Hawks’ stellar 20 assists on 28 field goals. Penn has real talent but a long way to go.
The Red and Blue will take their next step Sunday afternoon in upstate New York at Siena (2-0) before a three-game California road trip over Thanksgiving, playing at Chapman (a Division III team), San Diego State and UC San Diego. St. Joseph’s, meanwhile, will stay in Philly but take its undefeated record on the road to Drexel and Temple.