PHILADELPHIA - Another weekend sweep for the Quakers!

The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team earned a hard-fought win over visiting Cornell on Saturday evening to cap an Ivy League weekend sweep, 69-58. The Quakers battled through eight lead changes and seven ties against the Big Red to move to 18-4 on the season and remain atop the conference standings at 8-1. 

PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Following two-straight games of season highs for Princess Aghayere, the senior posted a new career best Saturday night with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. She finished with 10 rebounds, good for her sixth career double-double and fourth of the year. 

*The Quakers recorded at least four players in double-digit scoring for the third-straight game, as Aghayere was joined by 17 from Ashley Russell, 13 from Phoebe Sterba and 10 from Eleah Parker.

*Russell's double-digit performance was her 12th of the season as the captain finished with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, tying her career high with two blocks.

*Nine of Sterba's 13 points came from behind the 3-point line as the junior has hit at least two three's in 16 games this year.

*Kendall Grasela led the team with six assists. 

*Parker finished just shy of a double-double, tallying nine rebounds with three blocks. The sophomore has scored in double figures 18-straight games. 

*The Quakers tied a season high with nine blocks on the night. Six different players swatted at least one shot. 

*After allowing the Big Red to shoot over 50 percent from the floor in the first half, the Quakers locked down defensively, with Cornell shooting only 26 percent in the second 20 minutes. 

*Penn improves to 60-21 all-time against th Big Red, winning their sixth straight in the series. 

*With Penn's eighth win in Ivy League play, the Quakers secure a winning record in the conference for the seventh-straight season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams came out with some sharp shooting from the field, combining to shoot 5-of-9 after the first five minutes. The opening stages of the game were a tight-knit affair – featuring six lead changes and five ties.

The Quakers started to develop some breathing room from the Big Red behind the power of Aghayere. The senior grabbed an offensive board and finished under the bucket, adding in another from the stripe after a Cornell foul, to give the Quakers a 16-13 lead.

Russell extended the lead to six after a bucket from beyond the arc. Cornell cut it to one after consecutive buckets, but a pair of layups from Aghayere and Parker sent Penn into the first intermission with a 23-18 lead.

Cornell utilized 6-0 run to take the lead coming out of the break. Penn took it right back following a second-chance layup from Aghayere, but a Big Red mid-range jumper and a pair of freebies swung it the other way yet again.

Sterba scored two consecutive treys to reestablish Penn's lead, taking a 31-28 edge into the final media timeout of the half. Aghayere made it a two-possession game after a three-point play the old-fashioned way, but a pair of Cornell freebies coupled with a Big Red three cut Penn's lead down to one.

The lead was extended back to three after Sterba cut in from the right wing to sink a mid-range shot, before Russell garnered some breathing room taking a steal to the other end. Parker ended the half with an emphatic block, and Penn went into the break with a 41-36 lead.

Russell opened the third quarter with a bucket from behind the arc. Cornell scored consecutive buckets to cut the lead to four, but the Quakers broke off a 7-0 run to establish their first double-digit lead of the night.

The Big Red cut it back to four after a 7-0 run of their own, but a Parker layup ended the third quarter with Penn up 55-49.

Aghayere opened the final quarter with a trey, but Cornell scored on consecutive possessions to stay within an arm's reach. Both defenses stepped up, leading to a period of over five minutes without a bucket from either team.

A Parker layup ended the drought and gave Penn a seven-point lead with just over two minutes to go. A shooting foul sent Parker to the line, going 1-of-2. Aghayere grabbed the offensive board, however, and finished with a layup to put Penn up 53-63.

Cornell was only able to get as close as eight points for the remainder of the game, as Penn went 7-of-8 from the stripe down the stretch to close out the game.

WHAT'S NEXT?
A midweek matchup, Penn's final of the year, awaits the Quakers at The Palestra on Tuesday night, as Princeton comes to town for a 7 p.m. tip.