The Palestra

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 77-64 win over Maine

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PHILADELPHIA — Brilliant performances from Penn’s two best upperclassmen helped the Quakers finally put an end to their four-game losing skid.

Junior wing Ethan Roberts dropped a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double, while senior big man Nick Spinoso seriously flirted with a triple double in a 77-64 win over Maine at the Cathedral Classic Invitational round robin on Saturday.

For the Quakers (3-4), the win over the Black Bears (4-4) was their first victory over a credible Division I opponent all season. Penn’s offense looked crisp for long stretches on Saturday, a welcome change from the early-season clunkiness that has been all too common.

Penn never trailed after the 14:14 mark of the first half but got pushed into a tie at multiple points in the second half. The Quakers drove in the dagger with a 10-0 run that pushed their lead from one point to 11 around the final media timeout of the game. An open Dylan Williams corner three off a swing pass from Roberts pushed Penn’s lead to 68-57 with 3:37 to go and effectively ended the contest.

For the first time in a few weeks, it’s all happy Quakeaways, such as how …

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Penn women’s basketball loses in overtime to UC Irvine, 72-68

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The Penn women’s basketball team took another few steps forward Thursday night at the Palestra but came up short in overtime, 72-68, against the University of California at Irvine.
Both sides were tantalizingly close to taking the win in regulation. With a bit more than five minutes left, a three-pointer on a fast break put Irvine up, 60-57. And as the next three minutes ticked away, neither team could score until Penn freshman forward Katie Collins took a pass from Saniah Caldwell and hit a three to tie the game again. A layup for Irvine was quickly followed by another Penn three, this one from freshman Ashna Tambe on a feed from Mataya Gayle. And that one-point Penn lead lasted through an excruciating 90 seconds of missed shots and turnovers for both sides until Irvine’s Hunter Hernandez missed one foul shot but sank the second with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.

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Penn women’s basketball picks itself up after falling to Saint Joseph’s

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No matter what sport you’ve been around, you’ve probably heard it said: A W is a W. An ugly win counts just as much in the record books.
But the opposite isn’t necessarily true, and the Penn women’s basketball team recorded a pretty good loss Friday night to an excellent Saint Joseph’s squad, 68-57, at the Palestra.
For context, look back a year and a day to the last time the two teams met: a 77-49 blowout for the Hawks on their way to a 28-win season (and a Big 5 championship). If anything, the Hawks are stronger this year, while the Quakers are trying to compensate for the loss of All-Ivy forward Jordan Obi to graduation and spark plug guard Ese Ogbevire to injury.

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Penn women’s basketball coasts versus Siena to third win

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A dominant 27-point performance from Stina Almqvist led the Penn women’s basketball team to a 78-47 trouncing of Siena at the Palestra Wednesday night.
Almqvist, an All-Ivy Second Team selection last season, is second to none so far in her senior year, tied for the league lead in scoring for Penn (3-0) with Princeton’s Madison St. Rose at 19.7 points per game. Against Siena (0-3), Almqvist scored six of Penn’s first eight points. She was as efficient as ever for the night, hitting nine of 14 shots from the field and eight of 10 from the free-throw line, and added nine rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball eking out win over UMES

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After another frenetic final minute, Penn is 2-0.

The Quakers had to survive an 18-point barrage from Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in the game’s last 60 seconds but escaped with an 85-84 win in their opening game at the Palestra.

Penn moved ahead for good with 7:13 to go in the first half after senior forward Nick Spinoso laser-beamed an excellent pass to classmate George Smith, who hit a nice layup to give the Quakers a 20-19 lead they would not surrender.

Strong shooting performances in the second half from sophomore Sam Brown (22 points) and Ethan Roberts (23 points) helped Penn build a lead of as many as 16 points, but the Hawks got hot enough to make the end a nail-biter.

How stressful did it get? After Brown drained two free throws to give the Quakers a game-sealing 85-81 lead with 0.8 seconds left, UMES rolled the ball inbounds into the arms of junior guard Jose Cuello, who casually picked up the ball and drained a three from beyond half-court.

So, what have we learned about Penn after two victories against ostensibly inferior competition that were closer than expected?

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LISTEN: Tiger Takeaways from Princeton men’s basketball’s win at Penn to clinch Ivy title

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Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark shares his thoughts on a 105-83 win for Princeton (24-3, 12-2 Ivy) at Penn (11-18, 3-11) Saturday that clinched the Tigers an outright Ivy League championship:

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 105-83 loss to Princeton

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Penn’s Ivy campaign came to a miserable end on Saturday night as the Quakers made history for all the wrong reasons.

The Quakers turned in a defensive no-show against rival Princeton in a 105-83 loss at the Palestra. The 100-piece was the first time either Penn (11-18, 3-11 Ivy) or Princeton (24-3, 12-2) scored 100 points in a rivalry that has spanned 250 games (shoutout to Ivy Hoops Online contributor Steven Tydings for the lookup).

Princeton sealed an outright Ivy League title and kept its hopes of attaining an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament alive with the breezy victory. The Tigers never trailed on Saturday night and shot an absurd 17-for-27 from three-point range, good for a 63% clip. Princeton has now beaten Penn 11 times in a row.

After a nonconference campaign that inspired reason for genuine hope, Penn wound up posting its worst Ivy season since 1956-57. That iteration of the Red and Blue also went 3-11 in league play.

What could Penn fans take away from a moribund evening?

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LISTEN: Princeton men’s basketball postgame press comments after clinching outright Ivy title with 105-83 win at Penn

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Coach Mitch Henderson, senior forward Zach Martini and sophomore forward Caden Pierce reflect postgame on a 105-83 win for Princeton (24-3, 12-2 Ivy) at Penn (11-18, 3-11) Saturday that clinched the Tigers an outright Ivy League championship:

Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s 84-72 win over Columbia

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There haven’t been too many happy moments for Penn men’s basketball over the course of the last two-plus months. But the Quakers got one on Saturday night.

Penn cruised to a fairly stress-free win over Columbia at the Palestra, 84-72. The Quakers (11-17, 3-10 Ivy) roared past the Lions (13-13, 4-9) on the back of standout performances from the two players they expected were going to carry the team on opening night: senior guard Clark Slajchert and junior forward Nick Spinoso.

Spinoso scored a career-high 23 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field, while Slajchert added 22 and finished with an eye-popping KenPom offensive rating of 163 points per 100 possessions while on the floor. He crossed the 1,000 points scored barrier late in the first half.

For once, it’s all happy Quakeaways.

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