HANOVER, N.H. - A hot start and efficient play all-around pushed the University of Pennsylvania (18-7, 9-3 Ivy) women's basketball team past Dartmouth on Saturday, clinching the Quakers' spot in the Ivy League Tournament as a top-four team. 

PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Ashley Russell led the way with a career-high 21 points, posting a new personal best for the fourth time this season. Russell tied her career-high with three 3-pointers, and was key in Penn's quick start, scoring 15 points in the first quarter alone. 

*Lauren Whitlatch followed Russell's lead in the first half, posting 12 points on four 3-pointers, her best performance offensively since tallying 18 at Yale on Feb. 3. 

*Michelle Nwokedi was the third in double figures for the Red and Blue, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds, just shy of a double-double. The senior captain also tied the team-lead with six assists on the night, one short of her career-best. 

*Anna Ross featured a balanced attack offensively with six points and six assists, with four rebounds. 

*Penn finished the night 31-for-62 from the floor, an even 50 percent. The Quakers are 8-1 in the Coach McLaughlin era when shooting at least 50 percent.

*When looking at the box score, keys to the victory can be seen in two categories: points in the paint and points off turnovers. The Quakers dominated the post, outscoring the Big Green down low 39-6, while notching 25 points off 22 Dartmouth miscues.

*Penn improves to 43-36 all-time vs. Dartmouth and has now won eight-straight over the Big Green, tying the longest streak in program history for the Quakers. Penn has held Dartmouth to 53 points or less in 11-straight meetings. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn rocketed out of the gates on fire, holding Dartmouth still on defense while riding the tails of Russell on offense. The Quakers were able to push in transition from the opening tip and routinely found Russell on all parts of the floor: inside, outside, and the midrange. Penn saw itself up 20-2, eventually holding for a 22-7 lead after the first quarter, and held Dartmouth scoreless for nearly eight minutes combined in the period.

Whitlatch awoke in the second quarter, exploding for a personal 9-0 run to lengthen the Penn advantage. The Quakers were able to score 23 in the period, and finished the half shooting 54 percent with six 3-pointers. Defensively, Dartmouth committed 15 turnovers leading to 17 points for Penn. 

Russell stayed hot to open the third period, totaling 21 points on her third 3-pointer of the night. Penn stayed relentless in its attack, stifling any Dartmouth momentum within moments in front of a packed house for senior night. Moving into the final quarter, the Quakers continued to pester the Big Green offense, featuring a key play from Ross in the backcourt that saw the senior captain steal an inbounds pass and finish through contact for the three-point play. Penn posted a 79-50 victory when all was said and done, its ninth win of the Ivy League season. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Quakers return home to The Palestra for the final weekend of the regular season, welcoming Yale and Brown to Philadelphia. Penn tips off against the Bulldogs on Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m., before a 6 p.m. tip against the Bears on Senior Night.