PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania picked up its third consecutive Ivy League victory with a 63-41 defeat of Cornell on Saturday night at The Palestra.
Phoebe Sterba finished one three pointer shy of her career high and the program record for treys in a game with six en route to piling up 22 points and seven rebounds. The senior hit on six of her first eight attempts from beyond the arc. At least three Quakers finished in double figures for the third straight game as Eleah Parker, a night after eclipsing the 1,000-point mark, finished with 11 and eight boards as Tori Crawford added 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists in another terrific effort,
PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Phoebe Sterba hit six threes, one shy of her career and program record.
*Sterba's 22 points are just one short of matching her career high.
*Eleah Parker finished in double figures for the fifth time in the last six games, coming just one board short of her fourth double-double over the last five games.
*Tori Crawford, one of the most improved players in the league, went for 10 more points and nine rebounds on Saturday night.
*Penn hasn't lost to an Ivy team other than Princeton at The Palestra since Feb. 6, 2015, now 1,874 days.
*When scoring at least 60 points in a regular season game, the Quakers are now 110-2 under Mike McLaughlin.
*Penn outscored Cornell 15-4 off of turnovers.
*The Red and Blue is now 36-9 all-time against Cornell at The Palestra.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn set the tone right off the tip and that statements holds zero exaggeration. Eleah Parker won the tip, tapping it to Tori Crawford, who turned her hips and hit Phoebe Sterba with a pass that the senior instantly converted into a three. Sterba knocking down threes became a familiar sign during the opening 10 minutes. The next possession, the senior hit her second and then Crawford converted on a layup to push Penn out to an 8-0 advantage in the first two minutes. Cornell went the first 3:09 before its first field goal, but the Quakers instantly answered with Sterba's third long ball and another bucket from Crawford.
Sterba's fourth three of the first quarter gave Penn an 18-8 lead with 3:16 remaining in the opening 10 minutes. After a Big Red score, the Quakers ended the quarter with three consecutive scores, two of which came from Crawford to lead 37-21.
Cornell inched closer in the early stages of the second period, getting as close as 12 with 8:47 left in the half. Once more, Penn had an answer. Late in the shot clock, Sterba nailed a jumper from the foul line to pump her first-half total up to 14 points and then Kendall Grasela made some noise with a nasty inside-out dribble into a euro step to count the bucket plus the foul; she made her free throw, making it 31-14 with 7:24 left. Grasela knocked down a three with under a minute before the half to enter the locker room with a 37-21 advantage.
Scoring in the second half began in an identical fashion as the first half: a three from Sterba. Her fifth three made it a 19-point game at 40-21 in the opening minute. Cornell slowly inched closer in the third quarter, eventually getting within 13 with just over a minute to play in the period, but Penn never let the Big Red closer than that. Parker scored Penn's final four points of the period to bump it back to 15 after 30 minutes.
In the fourth, Cornell hit a three with 8:12 left but didn't make another field goal until just 1:26 remained. During that stretch, the Red and Blue went on a 12-0 run to finish the Big Red off, 63-41.
UP NEXT?
Penn hits the road next weekend to play Brown on Friday, Feb. 14 and then Yale on Saturday, Feb. 15.
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