Women’s City Six basketball: Penn’s historic start continues, St. Joe’s Jekot notches first double-double
The Quakers improved to 6-1, the Hawks routed Sacred Heart, Drexel beat Villanova in overtime, and Temple went on the road and beat Towson.
Penn 65, La Salle 49
Kayla Padilla scored a game-high 24 points and Phoebe Sterba added 22 to lead the Quakers in a Big 5 win over the Explorers on Wednesday at Tom Gola Arena.
Padilla, a freshman guard, shot 9 of 24 from the field, including 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, to help Penn improve to 6-1 and continue its best start in program history. She also went 3 for 5 at the free-throw line and had four assists and three steals.
The senior guard Sterba, meanwhile, shot 8 of 15 (5 of 10 from three) and racked up five rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore forward Kennedy Suttle pulled in 11 rebounds to match a career high, while junior forward Tori Crawford and senior guard Kendall Grasela each grabbed nine (both career highs).
Senior forward/center Shalina Miller led La Salle (6-3) with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double.
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday. The Quakers will have a noon tip-off against Stetson (4-4) at the Palestra, and the Explorers will look to bounce back when they travel to face Rider (3-2) at 2 p.m.
Drexel 54, Villanova 52 (OT)
The Wildcats managed to force overtime, but the Dragons came out on top in Wednesday’s City Six matchup at the Daskalakis Center.
Bailey Greenberg led Drexel with 20 points, scoring seven of them in overtime, to improve her team to 5-3 on the season. The senior forward shot 8 of 20 from the field, including 1 of 5 from three-point range. She also had three rebounds, an assist and two steals.
Forward Madison Siegrist led Villanova, which dropped to 3-4, with a game-high 24 points. The redshirt freshman shot 7 of 14 from the field and a perfect 9 of 9 at the free-throw line while also grabbing five rebounds. Senior forward Mary Gedaka put up a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Junior guard Hannah Nihill scored 10 points for Drexel, and senior forward Niki Metzel added eight points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
The Dragons will be back in action on Sunday, hitting the road to face Bucknell (5-3) at 2 p.m.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, will have a Big 5 matchup Saturday at 1 p.m. against St. Joseph’s (4-4) at Finneran Pavilion.
St. Joseph’s 71, Sacred Heart 44
Katie Jekot notched her first career double-double to lead the Hawks in a blowout win over the Pioneers on Wednesday at Hagan Arena.
The sophomore guard scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds (both game highs), while sophomore forward Katie Mayock added 12 points in an effort when St. Joe’s shot a combined 45.2% from the field.
The Hawks went back to .500 (4-4) with Wednesday’s victory and will face Villanova (3-4) next in a Big 5 matchup on Saturday at the Wildcats’ Finneran Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
Temple 74, Towson 59
Mia Davis recorded her fifth double-double of the season, leading the Owls in a road win over the Tigers on Wednesday.
Davis, a junior, finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds (both game highs), scoring 15 of those points at the foul line thanks to a career-high 18 free-throw attempts.
Ashley Jones added 21 points, shooting 6 of 21 from the field and going 9 of 14 at the free-throw line. The redshirt sophomore also had six rebounds and two assists.
Temple shot 32.3%, compared to Towson’s 30.3%, and outrebounded the Tigers, 43-35.
Kionna Jeter had a double-double (19 points, 14 rebounds) to pace Towson.
The Owls improved to 5-4 with Wednesday’s win and will return home to McGonigle Hall on Saturday to face No. 6 South Carolina (8-1). Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.