Junior guard Beth Brzozowski had a strong game off the bench with 13 points and six rebounds in a much-needed win for Penn women's basketball
Credit: Alex FisherJust what the doctor ordered.
After a slow start to the season, Penn women’s basketball headed to Lafayette seeking a win to turn its season around. The Quakers got their win, and matched last year’s margin of victory in a 64-47 win against the Leopards.
Penn (2-3) dominated Lafayette (1-7) from the start, especially behind the arc. The Quakers went 10-for-24 from distance, led by guards Beth Brzozowski and Kasey Chambers with three treys apiece.
“It was awesome to get a win up there,” Chambers said. “We did a lot better offensively, we were able to get above 60 which was one of our goals.”
Scoring above 60 points seems to be the key to success for the Red and Blue: they have now won 54 straight regular season games when reaching that benchmark.
Defensively, the Quakers did well to shut down the Leopards, allowing only one player, their leading scorer, Anna Ptasinski, to reach double figures, while three Penn players achieved that mark.
The Penn duo of forward Michelle Nwokedi and center Sydney Stipanovich each blocked four shots, continuing Penn’s early season success in the paint.
“We really played well on the defensive end ... which helps our offense, which I thought was an improvement from last game,” Chambers said.
The performance from the Quakers was just as balanced as it was dominating. Penn trailed for under a minute at 2-0, took the lead with 8:17 remaining in the first quarter and never looked back on their way to a 17-point victory.
Penn led the Leopards in shooting, rebounds, assists and blocks, all while committing fewer turnovers and fouls. It was a marked improvement from a rocky start to the season which featured a lack of consistency for the reigning Ivy League champions.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for improvement.
“After the game we talked about pace ...and controlling the game a little bit more which we’re still working on,” Chambers said.
Next up, the Quakers will travel to Staten Island to play Wagner (1-5) on Saturday. The Seahawks are fresh off a 14-point loss to Yale, meaning the matchup will provide an early barometer for seeing how Penn stacks up against the rest of the Ivy League.
Penn will look to improve to 2-0 all-time against the Seahawks and build on what was a commanding victory against Lafayette. A performance like this one on Saturday will bring the Quakers back to .500. Look for Penn’s front court to flourish against a Wagner team that has struggled rebounding the ball this season.
If the Quakers can build on their performance from Wednesday and keep the momentum going, another win this weekend seems like a good possibility.
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