PHILADELPHIA - The gauntlet resumes. After a quick 1-0 start to Ivy League play following a win over defending champion Princeton nearly four weeks ago, the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team returns to conference action with a road swing to New York, facing both Cornell and Columbia. 

Friday's game with the Big Red will be part two of a doubleheader with the Penn men, with tipoff at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday the women will play first, at 5:30 p.m.

In the Series vs. Cornell: 80th Meeting
Penn holds a 58-21 lead in the all-time series with the Big Red, with four-straight wins in the series for the Quakers, including 10 of the last 12. The Quakers are 17-12 in Newman Arena. Against the Red and Blue, Cornell has not surpassed the 55-point mark since 2015. Coach McLaughlin is 11-7 against Cornell in his tenure with Penn.

In the Series vs. Columbia: 66th Meeting
The Quakers hold a commanding 47-18 advantage in the series with Columbia, and have won 14-straight against the Lions, dating back to 2012. Penn is 18-14 all-time at Levien Gymnasium, and Coach McLaughlin is 15-3 against the New York City foe in his time with the Red and Blue. Columbia has not scored over 59 points in its matchup with Penn since 2014.

Catching the Games: ESPN+
Both of this weekend's games can can be watched live on ESPN+, as part of the Ivy League's new partnership with ESPN. In-game Twitter updates and video can be found at @PennWBB. A complete recap, box score and highlights can be found on PennAthletics.com shortly after the conclusion of both games.

Last Time Out: W, 81-46 vs. Haverford (Jan. 27, 2019)
   -  The Quakers soared to their 10th non-conference win of the season last time out, wrapping up their non-league slate with a dominating 35-point win over Division III opponent Haverford. Eleah Parker was strong in just 21 minutes of action, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. 

Scouting the Big Red
Cornell enters the weekend at 7-6 overall, including a 1-1 mark in the Ivy League after splitting it season series with travel partner Columbia. Cornell is led by 14.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game from transfer Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, while Samantha Widmann joins her in double-digit scoring. The Big Red were picked eighth in the preseason media poll, but are a perfect 6-0 at home this season. 

Scouting the Lions
Columbia owns a 5-10 mark on the year, including a 1-1 record in Ivy League play. The Lions, picked seventh in the Ivy League preseason media poll, feature a strong contingent of youth, led in scoring by freshman Sienna Durr with 14.2 points per game. Both Janiya Clemmons and Riley Casey average over 10 points per game on offense as well, while freshman Mikayla Markham boasts 5.4 assists each time out. 

Atop the Mountain
Penn doesn't only boast high rankings among the Ivy League. The Quakers lead the nation in fewest fouls, playing a disciplined style of defense, while ranking fourth in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense (32.7). Penn's average of 43.5 rebounds per game is 18th nationally, while its defensive rebounding average of 30 is 15th. Offensively, Penn is second nationally in fewest turnovers.

Ivy League Success 
Last season marked the fifth-straight year that Penn won 11 or more Ivy League games. Prior to that, Penn had won 11 or more Ivy League games only twice in its entire history.

Magic Number: 60 
The statistic that may most indicate a Penn win or loss? 60 points. Penn has won 93 of its last 94 regular season games when scoring at least 60 points. Since head coach Mike McLaughlin took over at Penn, the Quakers are 124-11 (.918) when they reach that number (96-3 over the last four seasons). In comparison, the Quakers are just 42-101 (.293) when they've scored less than 60 points under Coach McLaughlin. The trend continues defensively. Over the last seven seasons, the Red and Blue are 32-53 (.369) when allowing 60 points or more. But when holding opponents under that number, the Quakers hold a healthy winning record of 132-33 (.800).

Defensively Consistent
Penn has held its opponents to 68 points or less in 105 of its past 110 games. The lone games over that mark since Feb. 14, 2015 were last season and this season at #1/1 Notre Dame.

Monster Performances by Parker
Reigning Ivy League and Big 5 Rookie of the Year Eleah Parker has, not surprisingly, been a key cog for the Quakers on offense. With one Player of the Week honor under her belt following Penn's victory at Drexel, Parker leads the team in both points (14.7) and rebounds (8.9), and ranks second nationally, averaging 3.50 blocks per game. 

Against Villanova, Parker matched her career high in points with 25, while setting a new personal best, collecting 17 rebounds. 

#RoadToIvyMadness
The Ivy League is in its third season with a conference tournament, inviting the regular season's top-four finishers to Ivy Madness. The Quakers have advanced to the championship game in each of the first two editions of the competition, winning the trophy in 2017 at The Palestra. This season, Ivy Madness is set for March 16-17, 2019 at Yale's John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn. 

What's Next?
The Quakers return home, set to face Brown and Yale at The Palestra next weekend.