PHILADELPHIA - Winners of six straight, the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team looks to keep hold of first place in the Ivy League with a trek north to Dartmouth and Harvard over the weekend. The Quakers will tipoff against the Big Green on Friday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m., before matching up with the Crimson on Saturday at 5 p.m.

In the Series vs. Dartmouth: 80th Meeting
Despite a dominant surge from the Quakers in the past decade, the Big Green still hold a slim advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, at 43-36. Penn has won eight straight against Dartmouth and 14 of the last 15, the lone setback coming in Hanover in 2014. The Red and Blue swept the season series last year, earning an 18-point win at home and prevailing by 29 at Leede Arena, their largest margin of victory at the venue in program history. Coach McLaughlin holds a 15-3 record against the Big Green. 

In the Series vs. Harvard: 83rd Meeting
Similar to the series with Dartmouth, Penn has been strong of late against the Crimson, but Harvard maintains a 50-32 lead in the all-time series over the Quakers. Last season saw three meetings between the two teams, with a split in the regular season and a win by Penn in the Ivy League Tournament. The Quakers have won 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two schools, as last year's win by Harvard in Cambridge broke a nine-game win streak for Penn. 

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, 54-48 vs. Yale (Feb. 9, 2019)
   -   The Quakers clawed out a hard-earned six point win over an energetic Yale team on Saturday, to clinch another weekend sweep and remain atop the Ivy League standings with a perfect 5-0 mark.
   -   Fighting through foul trouble, sophomore Eleah Parker led the way with her seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. 

Scouting the Big Green
Dartmouth enters the weekend on a high note, after sweeping its New York Ivy League weekend for the first time in 12 years last time out. At 3-3 in the conference, Dartmouth is just outside the top half of the league, and owns a record of 10-9 overall. Seniors Isalys Quinones and Cy Lippold lead the team, averaging over 13 and 11 points per game respectively. The Big Green are seventh in the league in scoring offense, but second in defense to the Quakers.

Scouting the Crimson
Harvard, picked third in the Ivy League in the preseason, enters the weekend tied for second at 4-2 in conference play, with a matchup against Princeton slated for Friday before playing Penn. The Crimson own the league's strongest victory of the season, with a win over then #13/14 California in December, and are 11-8 overall. Four players are averaging at least 10 points a game for Harvard, led by a deadly 3-point attack from Katie Benzan, Sydney Skinner and Madeline Raster.

Atop the Mountain
Penn boasts high rankings not just among the Ivy League. Known for a disciplined commitment to defense, Penn ranks first in the nation in fewest fouls, while ranking third in scoring defense and fifth in field goal percentage defense (32.6). Penn's average of 43.1 rebounds per game is 18th nationally, and its 5.3 blocked shots a game is 16th in the country. Offensively, Penn is second nationally in fewest turnovers.

Brick Wall
Opponents have faced a tough task when going inside to face Parker, as the sophomore ranks second nationally, averaging 3.5 blocks per game. Her 63 blocks so far this season individually would rank her over 127 TEAMS in block totals.

Winning Streaks
Prior to Coach McLaughlin, Penn had just one winning streak of more than seven games in its entire history (21). However, in the last five seasons, the Quakers have had seven such winning streaks, including a nine-game streak last season. Penn is currently on a season-high six game win steak.

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.

#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 to begin their second round of play against the seven other Ivies, beginning with a rematch with Columbia and Cornell at The Palestra next weekend.