Penn vs. Yale Box Score (PDF)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The University of Pennsylvania (15-7, 8-1) saw their Ivy win streak come to an end with a 61-48 defeat at Yale (12-11, 3-7) on Saturday night in New Haven, Conn. The loss marked the first conference defeat for the Quakers this season and the first to Yale since 2013.

Senior Sydney Stipanovich became the Ivy League all-time leader in blocks during the contest when she tallied the 306th block of her Penn tenure in the fourth quarter, surpassing Kathy Gilbert's record last set in 1991.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Quakers were plagued by turnovers and struggled from the field, hitting just 34.5% (19-of-55) for the contest and 6-of-25 (24%) from three point range. Penn was led by the double-double of Michelle Nwokedi (13, 12), her ninth of the season.

Yale saw a career-high 26 points from Jen Berkowitz while the Bulldogs registered 34 points in the paint to Penn's 22, including 18 points off of turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Quakers saw themselves down for the second-straight night and were plagued by five turnovers following the under-5 media. By the 3:45 tick, Yale held a 12-5 lead by hitting just over 50% from the field and were led by the long range effort from Mary Ann Santucci. The Red and Blue bench provided a much needed spark, and the Quakers trailed just 12-10 after the first frame.

Penn was back in the contest by the start of the second when Princess Aghayere and Phoebe Sterba gave the Quakers the game-tying and go-ahead buckets, but Yale kept nagging. A one possession buffer favored both sides in the back-and-forth matchup as Yale pushed the pace, but the Quakers had a clear size advantage to dominate the rebound game. Santucci finalized the frame with an and-1 to tie the contest at 30-30 heading into intermission.

Yale came out firing in the third and continued their full court pressure to keep the game close. Neither team mustered more than a one point advantage until 2:08 left in the quarter when the Bulldogs pulled ahead 39-36, and the hosts multiplied that that to a seven point lead at 43-36 to end the quarter. Penn struggled in the frame and committed five turnovers as they entered the final 10 minutes of action.

The Bulldogs used a 13-0 run, all fueled by Berkowitz, to bridge the third and fourth quarters to pull ahead for the win. Stipanovich stopped the Yale run with a jumper from the elbow, but the Red and Blue struggled from the field as Yale saw their lead increase to a game-high 13 in the frame. Penn got within five with 3:06 to play, but Yale continued their hot shooting as they solidified the victory.

UP NEXT
The Quakers return home to The Palestra following a four goal road stand when they host Cornell and Columbia on Feb. 24 and 25. Saturday's game against the Lions will also serve as Senior Day to honor the three graduating Quakers as part of the Class of 2017.


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