Penn Quakers Women’s basketball smothers Brown

By Chuck Booth | Mar 11, 2017

Dec 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; (Editor's Note: Photo was converted to black and white). General view of an empty Palestra after a game between the Pennsylvania Quakers and the Navy Midshipmen. Navy won 65-59. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

In the first-ever Ivy League tournament, the top-seeded Penn Quakers women had the honor of hosting being the first game.

The Penn Quakers [21-7] hosted the Brown Bears [16-12] and won for the third straight time this season by a scoreline of 71-60. It’s tough to beat a team three times in a row but the Quakers had a little help with 25 points from Michelle Nwokedi. She stuffed the stat sheet with seven blocks and 10 rebounds as well.

The game got off to a slow start as the Penn Quakers struggled to get into their offensive rhythm but strong interior defense from Michelle Nwokedi and Sydney Stipanovich forced Brown into awkward shots that they couldn’t finish in the early going. During that time Penn was able to feel their way into the game but Brown hung tight.

The Penn Quakers were able to break off a 9-0 run between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter. That was able to push their lead to 13 but Brown wasn’t ready to lie down just yet. To end the first half, Brown hit four straight threes to close the gap to 33-32.

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The strong Penn defense that kept brown in check for most of the half looked lost at the end of the half as they allowed brown to shoot 7/15 from behind the arc. More concerning was that brown were able to pull down seven offensive rebounds en route to eight second chance points. That’s one area of the game where the Quakers should have the edge but Brown showed more hustle.

When asked about how the team rebounded when Brown took the lead, Anna Ross said,

"“I don’t think we were worried when they went up, we just stayed composed. We were playing well in the first quarter and I think we just went back to the way that we were playing. It felt like gameday in the Palestra for the while week so when we stepped on the court we were ready. So, 40-35, just thinking, ‘gotta stay calm, gotta play the way we play.'”"

The Penn Quakers started off the second half in the same way that they ended the first, by missing their first three shots. During that time, Brown was able to grab a small five-point lead to awaken the sleeping giant that is the Quakers. From that point until the end of the third quarter, the Quakers ripped off a 21-6 run in order to break open a 12 point lead in this one.

Brown tried to fight back but once the Quakers get rolling, they’re like a machine. Even on their misses they crashed the offensive boards with authority and didn’t allow Brown a second to breathe. Nwokedi took over the paint while Anna Toss and Beth Brzozowski roamed the perimeter taking what was given to them.

A small picture into ball movement 101 class featuring the Penn Quakers:

It was an offensive chemistry that was beautiful to watch (if you came to support Penn) and almost impossible for brown to defend. Whenever it looked like they had a small opening, the Penn Quakers would suffocate the Brown Bears.

Next: Gearing up for the Ivy League tournament

Next up for the Quakers will be a matchup with either Princeton or Harvard depending on the outcome of their game later today. It will be a match to decide the Ivy League champion as Penn looks to capture their third title in four years.

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