Immaculata needed a holy intervention as the Quakers ran rampant on the Mighty Macs.
In a match that was over before it began, Penn women’s basketball decimated its undersized competition from start to finish. In a historic show of dominance, the Quakers broke their program record for points in a game of 111 with 114, as well as setting a new point differential record of 75. The final score was 114 to 39.
“I’m glad we played good basketball,” coach Mike McLaughlin said. “Obviously we’re a bit bigger, a little bit faster, but we shared the ball and we did rebound the ball … We gotta perform and hopefully this will be a carry-over in Florida.”
The Quakers (4-3) faced their first Division III opponent of the year versus Immaculata (5-1), a much-needed tuneup as the season gets closer to Ivy play. Coming off a streak that saw them lose tough matches versus Big 5 conference teams St. Joe's and Villanova, as well as UC Irvine, the Quakers entered the game looking for a win before their road trip down to Florida, where they’ll participate in the Florida Gulf Coast University Homewood Suites Tournament.
The usual stars shined brightest early on, with sophomore guard Mataya Gayle consistently scoring and pushing the pace in transition, but a surprise early scoring effort from freshman guard Sarah Miller truly put the competition away. Each player would finish the blowout match, with 16 points and Miller scoring a career high with the Red and Blue.
“I try and look for an open gap to make a great opportunity, not just for myself, but for my team,” Miller said. “Just make sure we have spacing, make it easier for Mataya or anybody who has the ball to pass it out.”
The first half was defined by constant pushing in transition by Gayle, as well as outlet passes from and received by freshman forward Katie Collins and senior forward Stina Almqvist. On the other end, steals, blocks, and turnovers plagued the Mighty Macs’ offense — a squad that was particularly lacking in size in comparison to Penn’s lanky roster.
The nail in the coffin for Immaculata? Its commitment to paint defense, which constantly left wing shooters open for threes. The Quakers ended the match shooting 45% from the wings, as Gayle and junior forward Saniah Caldwell each shot 80% from behind the arc to lead the team.
The half ended with a deflating 63-20, Penn’s largest halftime lead of the year.
In the second half, the Quakers decided to short their rotations, allowing starters to get needed rest and giving bench players a chance to play. Freshman guard Brooke Suttle, freshman guard Reagan Jamison, junior forward Helena Lasic, junior guard Georgia Heine, and freshman forward Gabriella Kelley all got run in the second half as the game transitioned into looking more like a garbage time practice run.
Despite the large lead, Penn kept their foot on the gas as players continued their fast-paced coast-to-coast play while mixing in a more half-court-centric offense. Cuts from the wing, intricate passes, good finishing low down by sophomore center Tina Njike, and lights-out shooting from Heine showed the roster's depth.
“Going on a foreign trip, we went to Croatia and Italy this summer and they got a lot of team play,” McLaughlin said. “They got a lot of bonding, and it helped them get comfortable.”
As the score grew higher and higher, the team grew closer toward the Penn program records of 111 points and point differential of 66. The Quakers tied the record with a pull-up jumper from Jamison with 2:54 left on the clock, and a Suttle corner three put the record to bed with minutes to spare.
The Quakers will take the court again at the Big 5 Classic at Villanova to fight for fifth place.
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