Penn vs. Harvard Box Score (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA– The University of Pennsylvania (11-6, 4-0) put together an outstanding defensive effort to top the visiting Harvard Crimson (16-2, 4-1) 63-43 on Friday night at The Palestra. With the victory, Penn moves into sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings as the only remaining undefeated team in conference play.

Penn broke Harvard's 16-game win streak—the third longest in the nation—and posted their seventh straight win over the Crimson and their eighth in nine outings since the 2013 season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Anna Ross led all point scorers with 16 tallies and five boards to go along with two assists, while Michelle Nwokedi also added 14 points and nine rebounds. The Quakers won the defensive battle and out-rebounded their opponents by a 39-37 margin, and nearly tripled their points in the paint, 32 to 12. The Quakers held Harvard to just 24.5% shooting from the field for the evening while hitting 21-of-49 of their own attempts (42.9%) from the floor. 

Sydney Stipanovich moved into sixth place in the Penn record books with 1,268 career points and sits just three blocks shy of the Ivy League all-time block record (305).

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Quaker defense was the highlight of the first half and the Crimson struggled to take quality shots in the early goings, hitting just 1-of-12 in the first eight minutes. Penn countered with solid looks from the trio of Ross, Stipanovich and Nwokedi to push the Red and Blue to a 15-6 lead at the end of the first stanza with 10 tallies coming from points in the paint.

Low scoring in the second quarter handicapped both sides, but Penn saw their lead expand by as many as 14 with less than two minutes to play in the half. Harvard couldn't find their groove offensively and shot just 15.4% (2-of-13) from the field in the frame, and Penn held their opponent to their lowest first half point output of the season to take a 24-12 advantage into intermission.

Opposite strategies highlighted action coming out of the locker rooms, with Penn penetrating the lane and Harvard hitting from beyond the arc to begin the third. The Crimson connected on three out of four tries from downtown but couldn't match the production of the Red and Blue as the Quakers went on a 13-0 run to close the stanza as they doubled-down on the visitors, 46-23, with 1:09 on the clock.  

The 23-point deficit proved too much for the Crimson to overcome and the Quakers cruised to the 63-43 win to hand Harvard their first defeat since their season-opener against Minnesota on Nov. 12. Penn held Harvard to their lowest point total at The Palestra in series history, topping the previous low of 46 last set on March 5, 2016.

UP NEXT
The Quakers return to action tomorrow night when they host Dartmouth on Saturday, Feb. 4 at The Palestra. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. and will also serve as the #Play4Kay game to support the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, dedicated to women's cancer research.

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