It was raining threes on Friday, March 16, at the Palestra, in the opening minutes of the Penn women’s basketball team’s (22-8) first round Women’s National Invitational Tournament victory over Albany (24-8).
Senior guard Lauren Whitlach drained three straight triples from behind the arc, and senior Michelle Nwokedi, junior Ashley Russell, and freshman Kate Kinum also hit from deep to give the Quakers an 18-3 lead. Albany fought back with 3s of their own to make it a 27-20 game at the end of the first quarter.
The Great Danes used an 8-0 run at the start of the second to take a 28-27 advantage. A layup by Nwokedi, a jumper by Whitlach, and two free throws from senior guard Anna Ross put the Quakers back up 33-28. At half, Penn led 39-32.
In the third quarter, the Quakers fed their bigs. Center Eleah Parker, the unanimous Ivy League Rookie of the Year, scored Penn’s first eight points to give the Quakers a 47-38 lead. Timely shooting from freshman Tori Crawford, sophomore Kendall Grasela, and senior Beth Brzozowski helped keep Albany at bay.
Entering the fourth, Penn was up 59-50. After a three from Albany’s Patricia Conroy, Crawford hit a layup and a free throw to put the Quakers ahead 62-53. The Great Danes cut the lead to 5, before Ross showed her veteran leadership and scored nine of Penn’s next 12 points. With 4:43 remaining, the Quakers were up by 10. Successful free-throw shooting and tough team defense sealed the 76-61 win.
“We came out of the gate great,” said Penn Head Coach Mike McLaughlin. “They made some shots. We’ve been in this situation before and reacted sometimes a different way than we did tonight, but I loved our composure. We get at least one more game, so I think that’s what we tried to do. But I love what we did tonight.
“I think in the beginning of the year, we probably don’t find a way to win this game,” McLaughlin said. “We have better depth than we did earlier. It’s very satisfying.”
Nwokedi led all scorers with 18 points, and added 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Parker had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. Whitlatch finished with 11. Crawford had a career-high 9 points and 5 rebounds. Ross had 11 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds.
Penn shot 44.9 percent from the field (22-49), 40 percent from the 3-point line (8-20), and 77.4 percent from the foul line (24-31). The Quaker defense forced 19 turnovers, and had 5 blocks and 10 steals.
Up next up for Penn is St. John’s on Monday, March 19, at 7 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena in New York City. The game can be viewed live on ESPN3 via the Watch ESPN app.
