PHILADELPHIA - Eight is great! The University of Pennsylvania (14-5, 5-1 Ivy) women's basketball team won its eighth-straight game to move into a tie for first place in the Ivy League, defeating Dartmouth 65-47 on Friday at The Palestra. 

PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Ashley Russell used a hot start to lead the Quakers on offense, finishing with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers. Saturday's game marks the fourth in the last five Russell has finished in double figures, while the junior also corralled seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end.

*Princess Aghayere had a standout performance off the bench for her second career double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The junior displayed versatility on all parts of the floor, hitting a 3-pointer, finishing inside and going up for the midrange jumper. 

*The Quakers held the Ivy League's top field goal percentage team to a season-low 15-for-54 shooting for a 28 percent clip. 

*Freshman Eleah Parker finished in double figures for the 15th time this season, posting 10 points and eight rebounds on 5-for-10 shooting. 

*Phoebe Sterba continued to produce from behind-the-arc for the Quakers, helping to stem Big Green run with six points. 

*With the win, Penn continued to cut into Dartmouth's lead in the all-time series, with the Big Green now leading 43-35. The Quakers have won seven-straight games in the series and have held the Big Green to 53 points or less in 10-straight meetings. 

*Anna Ross finished with five points, five rebounds and six assists, improving upon her career assists record at Penn with 447 to her name.

*Penn improved to 12-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent, winning the battle of the boards 49-32.

*Lauren Whitlatch has now hit a 3-pointer in 12-straight games, going 2-for-7 from deep on Friday for six points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Big Green came out firing, doing what they do best and making shots. With Dartmouth out to an early 7-4 lead, the Quakers responded with a 7-0 run to to take their first lead of the night, and they would never look back. As she has been prone to do, Russell made an important impact early for the Red and Blue, notching the first four points of the night and finishing the first period with six. Dartmouth shot early and often from deep, connecting on three in the opening quarter to keep the game within striking distance when Penn threatened to pull away. Penn got Parker going inside to end the quarter, as the rookie finished with six points to give the Quakers an 18-13 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Penn opened the second quarter with two-straight 3-pointers from Russell, but the Big Green were able to counter with three's of their own, despite a poor shooting percentage. The Quakers went five minutes without a field goal during the heart of the quarter, but were able to maintain their advantage with free throws from Nwokedi and Ross. Aghayere broke the drought with a shot from deep, followed by another long range jumper from Sterba. Penn would end the half on a 13-4 run for a 37-23 lead at the break.

It would get better to start the third quarter, as Penn continued to run, going on a 6-0 streak to push its lead to 20. The Quakers epitomized their toughness on offense on a string of plays with six minutes left to play in the third, collecting four offensive rebounds before Russell culminated the possession with an open layup. Dartmouth would respond with a 6-0 run of its own to cut the lead to 14, but each and every Big Green run was met by backbreaking 3-pointers from the Quakers. At the end of three, Penn held a 51-32 advantage.

The Quakers saw a sloppy fourth quarter, with five turnovers, but got points from six different players to seal the victory. Aghayere put the finishing touches on her second career double-double, while Katie Kinum and Emily Anderson notched their first points of the contest. 

QUOTING COACH
"Offensively we weren't in the cleanest flow we'd been the last four or five times out, but we got the ball so many extra times ... It was just what we needed to do. To shoot under 40 percent and still score 65 is pretty good for us."

WHAT'S NEXT?
Part two of Penn's third Ivy League weekend will be against the Harvard Crimson on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. inside The Palestra. Saturday's contest marks both Penn's Alumnae Game and Play 4 Kay game.