Austin provides spark off bench for Quakers

Penn coach Kelly Greenberg called it one of the team's best defensive performances in years. The visitors certainly had a lot to do with that. Playing, assuredly, one of its worst games of the season, a flat Delaware side managed to convert an abysmal 26.3 percent of its shots from the field on its way to a 57-47 setback. At the reins of the team, star guard Allison Trapp stumbled her way through a 2-for-16 night. But these Quakers have had a nasty habit of letting floundering teams hang around just a little too long, and coach Tina Martin's stingy Blue Hens were doing just that. That is, until Mikaelyn Austin stepped in. It was the junior reserve who made the Blue Hens pay for their numerous mistakes -- five times from behind the arc -- including four during an eight-minute stretch before halftime. Austin poured in 14 of her game-high 17 points in the first half. She shot 6-for-13 on the night and added 3 assists. "She was the difference in the first half," Greenberg said. "If we didn't have Mik [Austin], we would have been down a lot." Austin entered the game with 13:19 remaining in the first half and the Quakers trailing by one. She promptly drained consecutive threes to extend a five-point advantage, triggering an 11-0 run that opened Penn's first sizable lead of the game. All this against a surging Delaware side that, at 6-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association, is making a serious run at its second-ever NCAA Tournament berth. The Blue Hens were 11-4 entering yesterday's contest and had won 11 of their last 12 -- routing their opponents with an average margin of victory of 16.9 points per game. Down 27-23 at halftime, Martin responded by using the athletic Trapp to neutralize Austin. Despite numerous traps and some aggressive man-to-man defense, Austin kept the offense moving with some savvy passing and heads-up play. "They put in that 1-2-2 trap, which was pretty effective because they have Trapp who is very athletic and very imposing in the middle," Austin said. "But we did a very good job bringing the ball up the court. We got out of a couple of our offenses, but we did a very good job of finding each other. "They definitely adjusted for the second half, but we also adjusted." As the clock wound down, Austin added an exclamation point to Penn's sixth victory of the season. In breaking the press following a Delaware timeout, her touchdown-pass assist to a wide open Kilker ended any remaining suspense. "Mik is a sparkplug," said guard Jewel Clark, who registered her fifth double-double of the season. "It's exactly what you want from somebody coming off the bench, somebody to come into the game and step it up for the team." Greenberg was more than confident in Austin, following her first start of the season at Lehigh last Tuesday. Filling in for a sick Cat Makarewich, Austin played a season-high 30 minutes, tallying 14 points and 4 assists in a 79-69 victory. "We knew we wanted to play her early because after Lehigh, she came out firing away, and that really helped us," Greenberg said. "We knew that we'd have to get Mik in early. She went in and did it, so we knew we wanted to stay with her."

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