CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A slow offensive first 20 minutes made the second-half comeback too much of an uphill battle for the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team in a 58-51 loss to Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion on Friday night.
The Quakers scored two points in the second quarter to enter the half down 32-13, but roared back in the final 20 minutes, even closing within five in the late stages. The deficit proved too much, though, as Penn fell to 0-2 in the Ivy League.
Kayla Padilla led with 21 points while Tori Crawford recorded the first double-double of her career with 10 points and 14 boards, including nine on the offensive glass.
PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Kayla Padilla scored at least 20 points for the ninth time this season and third time in four games. She knocked down five three pointers on Friday night.
*Tori Crawford became the third different Quaker to record a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. It's the first of her career.
*Crawford's 14 boards are a career high.
*Phoebe Sterba also crashed the glass, corralling a career-high nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Just about two minutes into the game, Eleah Parker earned the game's first basket with a up-and-under move in the post. After a stop, on the next possession, Kayla Padilla received a pass from Kendall Grasela in transition and buried the three from the wing before Tori Crawford pushed Penn's lead to 7-3 in the early going. Harvard responded with a forceful run of its own, scoring the next 12 points of the game, wrestling the lead from the Quakers in the latter stages of the first quarter. The Crimson hit a quartet of three pointers in the opening 7:51 to make it 15-7 with 2:09 left in the first.
Penn faced a deficit of 10 before Crawford found a wide-open Parker under the basket and then Padilla bounced a slick pass for Crawford for a reverse layup at the buzzer, to end the first period at 17-11.
Parker scored in the opening minute of the second half, knocking down a mid-range jumper from the elbow, but, from there, the Quakers went the rest of the quarter – 9:21 – without another point. During that stretch, Harvard managed another 12-0 run, advancing its lead to 32-13 at the halftime break.
The Quakers began the second half in a flurry, scoring seven of the first nine points of the third quarter. Padilla started things with a runner down the right side of the lane and Parker turned around and converted a lefty layup before Phoebe Sterba stepped into a three from the wing to make it 34-20 with still 6:45 to go in the quarter. The Crimson rebounded, though, and countered with a 9-0 spurt to raise the deficit to 23 at 43-20.
Once more, the Red and Blue stood up off the mat. Over the next 2:42, the Quakers raced out to a 13-0 run, ignited by back-to-back-to-back three pointers by Padilla – who hit two of them – and Michae Jones. Jones added another basket in that run and Padilla converted a pair of free throws to close within 10 at 43-33 before finishing the quarter down 46-33.
The run continued in the fourth thanks to a layup from Crawford and then a long ball from Padilla, getting within eight at 46-38 with just over eight minutes to play. With 1:25 left, the deficit was still 11 when Penn attempted one final punch. In a 24-second span, Sterba hit on a turnaround jumper and Padilla canned another three to close within six, at 53-47 with 1:01 left. The Quakers managed to get as close as five, but Harvard made enough plays down the stretch to win, 58-51.
UP NEXT?
Penn continues its journey north at Dartmouth on Saturday evening, scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip.
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