Penn WBB Controls Paint Behind Njike and Collins in Big 5 Classic

Villanova, Pa.—The University of Pennsylvania Quakers defeated the La Salle Explorers 65-52 at the Finneran Pavilion on Sunday, Dec. 7, surviving a third quarter comeback to secure fifth place in the Big 5 Classic.

Both the Quakers and Explorers took time to settle in during the 12 p.m. start, making 29.4 percent and 40 percent of their shots in the first period, respectively. Penn dominated on the glass, however, with 12 rebounds (5 offensive) to just six from the Explorers, allowing them to take an 11-10 lead.

Explorers head coach Mountain MacGillivray said that forward Kiara Williams, who played just 14:30, is still recovering from an upper body injury. While he praised freshman forward Amiya Moses for her performance off the bench, MacGillivray described how the Quakers helped limit La Salle’s forwards.

“We couldn’t get the ball inside early, [I] think that was on us a little bit more than from them. And then when we did a little bit later in the first quarter, we didn’t have a lot of success,” MacGillivray said. “[Penn center] Tina [Njike] guarded, they guarded us well and collapsed, and we’d pass it inside out.”

Njike finished with a 14 point, 13 rebound double-double, while forward Katie Collins led the field with 20 points and nine rebounds, helping Penn dominate the paint.

A Game of Runs

Trailing 16-13 with 5:43 to play in the second quarter, the Quakers bookended the half with a 25-4 run that made it 41-20 early in the third. MacGillivray called two timeouts late in the second in a fruitless bid to slow Penn’s momentum.

A second half adjustment helped the Explorers close within five points, however, as MacGillivray switched to a 2-3 zone that forced six Quakers’ turnovers in a span of five minutes.

“We actually did it out of our zone and let them make some mistakes,” MacGillivray said. “We were in a half court 2-3. So we weren’t actually pressuring, but they got caught in between, they got a little nervous with where they should throw the ball and we turned it into fast break points, which is what we’ve been doing well all season.”

Penn head coach Mike McLaughlin said the zone forced the Quakers to move around more, which threw them off their game, but that snapping out of the funk with a made shot helped them return to form. To his point, the Quakers began the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run that put the comeback try to bed.