Think what a first date is like: at least a four on the awkward scale, no matter what your mutual friend or dating app said about how you would mesh and have a good time.
You suggest coffee at your favorite neighborhood shop at 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon — low-key, low-pressure, perfect for a getting-to-know-you chat that can end in 30 minutes or stretch to 90 if things go well. Then maybe it’s dinner Friday night (Peruvian? Thai? One of their favorites, but no place fancy) — more talk, some flirting, some awkwardness but not too bad. You come home (alone, let’s assume) and think things could have gone much worse — that there’s enough promise to try again, that next time you won’t run right past the conversational passes.
The Penn women’s basketball team has gotten to this point in the season. After two low-key but winning dates in four nights, the Quakers don’t feel like a disaster in progress, but they’ll need some more challenging outings to see how well they might hold up. They could be the real thing, or they could get drunk and spend the evening complaining about their ex, metaphorically speaking.
The first game, at home against Division III King’s College, was actually less challenging than a cup of coffee. The second game, away against Delaware State on Monday night, was a bit more of a challenge but no strain: Penn rolled to an easy 63-41 victory as junior center Tina Njike scored the first double-double of her career with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting and a dozen rebounds. Nine Quakers got 10 minutes or more of playing time, and the team shot a collective 44% from the field. The Hornets, now 18 years removed from their last winning season, held a lead at 6-4, lost it and never saw it again.
Penn is still discovering, or at least revealing, its strengths in the new season. So it was great to see guard Ese Ogbevire, who missed her sophomore season on the court after tearing her ACL, playing at full speed and collecting eight points and a pair of assists in her 21 minutes. Guard Saniah Caldwell had a night of pluses and minuses: 4-for-5 shooting for nine points but five turnovers, contributing to a sloppy 19 turnovers for the team effort.
Forward Katie Collins, with eight points and a dozen rebounds, was essential but not surprising: This is the Ivy Rookie of the Year, but a year older and stronger, and we know what to expect there. Ditto with the previous Ivy Rookie of the Year, guard Mataya Gayle, who shot rarely, scored less but collected three assists and two steals. When the Quakers need Gayle, she’ll be there.
Still, after two dates, the uncertainties prevail. The first-year players have yet to break out, and the exceptional speed evident in the Quakers’ lineup yielded all of four fast-break points at Delaware State. The Quakers’ next game, Wednesday night down 33rd Street at Drexel, should be much more informative: The Dragons have played the Quakers even over the years, and they’re coming off a gritty win at Pittsburgh. The awkward fledgling romance of the young season is about to encounter reality.