Previewing the Big 5 Classic: Penn women’s basketball

History will be written on Friday when Penn women’s basketball takes the court in the inaugural Big 5 Women’s Classic.

Penn (6-3) will face off against La Salle (5-4, 1-0 Atlantic 10). Both teams went 0-2 in their respective pods, meaning that they will compete to finish as the fifth-place team in the Finneran Pavilion of Villanova.

“They always have a good atmosphere, so it’s going to be exciting, but obviously since this is a neutral floor, and … it’s not [La Salle]’s home court, it’s going to be different,” senior guard and captain Stina Almqvist said. “It’s going to be exciting for them to not have the home advantage, and we’re going to be able to use that atmosphere.”

For Penn, its two previous Big 5 losses to Saint Joseph’s and Villanova were part of a three-game losing streak that it snapped with a record-breaking 114-39 victory over Immaculata. The Quakers continued to build momentum over the Thanksgiving break. They flew down to Florida to play in the Florida Gulf Coast Univeristy Homewood Suites Tournament where the Red and Blue picked up two wins over Chattanooga and Cal Baptist.

“It’s so important to have momentum and we did. Even the games in Florida were really close and then we got away at the end,” Almqvist said. “It’s huge for us, for everyone’s confidence, and our way of playing together has been huge, so I’m excited to see if we can keep that going into the game on Friday.”

Multiple players found a rhythm during that three-game stretch, including sophomore guard Mataya Gayle. She averaged 16.7 points per game across the stretch and continued to add to the stats sheet. She is currently second in scoring on the team and first in total assists and steals.

Gayle shares the steals category alongside rookie forward Katie Collins, who has already racked up three Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors. Collins and the rest of the rookie class, including recent starting guard Sarah Miller, will be among the new faces in the newest edition of Penn versus La Salle.  

While the teams played last year, the matchup will look different personnel-wise. La Salle has five freshmen and eight transfers, totaling 13 new Explorers. Three of the team’s five starters — guard Ashleigh Connor, guard Ayisse Magassa, and forward Mackenzie Daleba — are transfers. The starting lineup is rounded out by rookie guard Joann Quinn and guard Aryss Macktoon, who was out all but four games with injuries last season.

“It’s pretty much a whole new team that we’re facing, so it’s going to be different, but their style of play is probably going to be pretty similar to how they do things,” Almqvist said.

Meanwhile, Penn returns with three of its four top scorers from its victory last season: Almqvist, Gayle, and senior guard Lizzy Groetsch. Almqvist, who scored 24 points in the win, has been an offensive centerpiece for Penn. She leads the team with 18.9 points per game, which makes her the 39th leading scorer across all Division-I conference players.

The Explorers do not have a breakout scorer the way the Quakers have Almqvist. Their top two leading scorers are guards Connor and Macktoon, but they are only averaging 11.7 and 10.8 points per game respectively.  

But La Salle also was neck-and-neck in its game against Temple, who is playing for the first-place title against Villanova. With two minutes to go in that game, La Salle led 64-62. A three-pointer shifted the momentum in favor of Temple, and La Salle fell 73-68. While it didn’t land in the win column, La Salle proved it could hang with Philadelphia’s best.

And just like Penn, La Salle’s momentum has been building too. The Explorers have gone 4-1 in the past two weeks, including taking home their first conference win against Loyola University Chicago.  

It’s not just season momentum at stake — it’s city pride.

The women’s side of Big 5 ball has been played since the 1980s and has been engraved in both programs’ histories. This Classic marks a new era for the citywide rivalry — the first installment in the progressing history of Philadelphia basketball.

“At the end of the day,” Almqvist said, “I think it’s going to come down to the effort level of the team — who’s going to want it the most.”