The Penn women’s basketball team may have lost to St. John’s 53-48 last night in the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament in New York City, but the seniors will end their careers tied for the winningest class in school history. Seniors Beth Brzozowski, Michelle Nwokedi, Anna Ross, and Lauren Whitlatch complete their four years in a Quaker uniform with an 89-31 record, including 48-8 in Ivy League play.
Mirroring her performance in Penn’s first round win over Albany, Whitlatch set the game in motion with two quick three-pointers to put Penn up 6-2. The Red Storm scored the next 11 points and were leading 14-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Whitlatch drained two more threes in the second quarter. Contributions from freshman Eleah Parker, Nwokedi, and Ross gave Penn a 24-22 lead at the intermission. Whitlatch finished the half with 12 points, shooting 4-6 from behind the arc.
Both teams went cold in the third. The Red Storm held the Quakers to 6 points in the period and led 32-30 entering the final frame.
Penn fired up the fourth with a jumper from Nwokedi to even the game at 32. Seven straight points for Parker propelled Penn to a two-point lead. A three-pointer from St. John’s guard Qadashah Hoppie with 5:48 remaining gave the Red Storm a 41-40 lead, which they would not relinquish. The Quakers, behind Nwodeki and Whitlatch, were able to trim the lead to 48-51 with 1:28 left. Whitlatch had a chance to tie it with 8 seconds on the clock, but her shot didn’t fall and St. John’s escaped with the win.
Whitlatch and Parker each finished with 15 points. All of Whitlatch’s scoring came from long distance, where she shot 5-10. Parker added 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Nwokedi was a factor with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Ross added to her school record with 3 assists. She also scored 5 points and had 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.
The Quakers shot 38.8 percent from the field (19-49) and 40 percent from the 3-point line (6-15). Uncharacteristically, they shot only 40 percent from the foul line (4-10).
Whitlatch closes her Penn career with 166 3-pointers, third in program history. Nwokedi wraps up her time as a Quaker ranked fifth all-time in points (1,517) and second all-time in rebounds (1,048).
The 22 wins by Penn are tied for second-most in the history of the program.
