PHILADELPHIA - It's a tight race at the top of the Ivy League standings, but the University of Pennsylvania (13-5, 4-1 Ivy) women's basketball team eyes a chance at making a statement this weekend, welcoming in top-four foes Dartmouth and Harvard to The Palestra. The Quakers face off against the Big Green on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m., before another 7 p.m. contest the following night against the Crimson. Penn has won seven straight and looks to keep the ball rolling in its lone home games the entire month of February. 

In the Series vs. Dartmouth: 78th Meeting
The Big Green lead the overall series vs. Penn 43-34, but it's the Quakers who have had the upper hand of late. Penn has won six straight against Dartmouth, and has not lost at home to the Big Green since Feb. 5, 2010. Last season, the Red and Blue swept both meetings between the two teams, including a 68-38 victory in The Palestra. Coach McLaughlin owns a 13-3 record against Dartmouth in his tenure with Penn. The Quakers have held Dartmouth to 53 points or less in nine-straight meetings. 

In the Series vs. Harvard: 80th Meeting
Similar to Dartmouth, Harvard leads the all-time series vs. Penn 49-30 but the Quakers are in the midst of their longest winning streak in series history, with eight consecutive victories vs. the Crimson, including five-straight wins decided by 10 or more points. The Red and Blue swept both meetings last year, including a 63-43 win at The Palestra for Harvard's first Ivy League loss of the season. The Quakers clinched the Ivy League regular season championship last season in Cambridge. Coach McLaughlin is 9-7 all-time against Harvard. Penn has not lost at home to the Crimson since a 57-53 setback on Feb. 25, 2012. 

Catching the Game: ESPN3 & Ivy League Network
Both of games this weekend can be watched live on both ESPN3 and the Ivy League Network (ILN), now available on Apple TV, Roku and the ILN app for Android and Apple devices. In-game Twitter updates can be found @PennWBB. A complete recap, box score and highlights can be found on PennAthletics.com shortly after the conclusion of the game.

Last Time Out: W, 69-54 at Yale (Feb. 3, 2018)
   - The Quakers won their seventh-straight game and capped an Ivy League road sweep with a 15-point victory at Yale last Saturday. As part of the 69-54 win, Penn was led by a balanced attack offensively, including 18-points from senior Lauren Whitlatch and 13 from classmate Anna Ross. Phoebe Sterba chipped in a season-best 11 points on three 3-pointers, while a large Penn advantage was season on the glass as the Quakers outrebounded Yale 48-32.

Scouting the Big Green
Dartmouth enters the weekend with an overall record of 12-7, sitting fourth in the Ivy League standings with a conference record of 4-2, including wins over Harvard, Brown, Cornell and Columbia. The Big Green boast a solid resume from the non-conference, featuring wins over two Power 5 opponents in Boston College and Colorado. The two teams share three common opponents from non-league play, as both defeated Rhode Island and NJIT and fell to Binghamton. Dartmouth is led by three players averaging double figure scoring, including Cy Lippold, Kate Letkewicz and Isalys Quinones. As a team, the Big Green lead the league in both field goal percentage (.435) and 3-point percentage (.360). 

Scouting the Crimson
An up-and-down non-conference season has paid dividends for Harvard in league play, as the Crimson enter the weekend atop the Ivy League standings with a 5-1 mark. Sitting at 13-6 overall, Harvard has won six straight heading into Friday's game at Princeton. Penn and the Crimson share two opponents from non-conference, splitting results between Temple and La Salle as the Quakers took down the Owls, but lost to the Explorers - the opposite of Harvard's results against the pair. This weekend marks Harvard's first road games in almost a month, and the Crimson are just 1-5 away from Cambridge this season. The Crimson are led by three players averaging double-digit points, including Katie Benzan, Taylor Rooks, and Jeannie Boehm. Benzan is especially lethal from deep, ranking fourth nationally with a 3-point shooting percentage of 46.8. 

Ross the Boss
Anna Ross made Penn history this season, breaking the program record for career assists with her 429th dish on Jan. 28, 2018 against Gwynedd Mercy, breaking a record set in 1989 by Cheryl Rath. Ross currently ranks 29th in the nation, averaging 5.6 assists per game. Against Rhode Island, Ross set a new career-high with 10 assists and became the first Quaker since Lauren Pears (Jan. 13, 2007) to notch a double-double on points/assists.

Parker Gaining Steam
Freshman center Eleah Parker has emerged as a key offensive catalyst for the Quakers, at one point boasting 13-straight games in double-figures this season. Parker has won seven Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards, including four straight, two Player of the Week awards, two USBWA National Freshman of the Week awards and two Big 5 Player of the Week honors. 

Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge
The Quakers have partnered with the American Cancer Society for the 3-Point Challenge. During the month of February, fans can pledge to donate a certain dollar amount for every 3-point basket made by the Red and Blue! Penn currently ranks in the top-10 nationally in funds earned Head to Penn's Pledge It page for info! 

A Busy Saturday
Saturday is a busy day for the Quakers, as Penn is set to welcome back some of its past for Alumnae Day at The Palestra. In addition to, the Red and Blue is proud to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sport Day, with events in Rockwell Gym prior to the game and postgame autographs after. Finally, Saturday's contest marks Penn's annual Play 4 Kay game in support of breast cancer awareness. 

Catching Fire
Penn's offense has been scorching at times throughout this season, averaging 69.6 points per game, the most since the 2002-03 team finished with an average of 69.8 points each contest. After scoring 84 against Rhode Island and 82 against VCU, the Quakers notched 80+ points in back-to-back contests for the first time since 2003. The Red and Blue tied a McLaughlin-era record first by hitting 13 3-pointers against URI and NJIT and then by posting 89 points vs. GMU.

Last weekend, Penn scored 88 points vs. Brown, its most against an Ivy League opponent since Feb. 2, 2001. Leading the charge has been Whitlatch, who ranks 35th in the country, averaging 2.89 three's per game. 

What's Next?
A busy week on the road for the Quakers begins on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at Princeton at 6:30 p.m., before a weekend trip to Columbia and Cornell starting on Friday, Feb. 16.