PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team has waited 617 days for Sunday, tipping off the 2021-22 season at Hartford in Chase Arena.
 
GAME 1 – PENN (0-0) at HARTFORD (0-1)
Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021 | 2 p.m.
Chase Arena | West Hartford, Conn.
Watch on ESPN+ ($) | International Feed | Live Stats
 
Penn-Hartford Series
Sunday will mark the second time these two programs have met, with the last time coming on December 2, 2019 in The Palestra. The Quakers overwhelmed the Hawks, forcing 25 turnovers – the most against a Division I opponent under head coach Mike McLaughlin – securing the 74-46 victory. Then-freshman Kayla Padilla led the offensive push for Penn, dropping 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
 
Hartford's Last Time Out
The Hawks opened the season on Wednesday at home against Sacred Heart, dropping a 71-62 decision. They shot 42.9 percent from the floor, led by three Hawks in double figures. Coming off the bench, Abby Streeter paced the offense with 12 points including 3-for-6 from deep. Turnovers plagued Hartford, giving up the ball 20 times across nine players.
 
Counting The Days
The last time the Quakers took the court was March 7, 2020 at Columbia to wrap up the regular season with a three-game win streak. With a 51-36 victory over the Lions, Penn secured the No. 2 seed in the Ivy League tournament, although it was canceled due to the pandemic.
 
Penn By The Numbers
1 • Coach McLaughlin is one win shy of 200 at the helm of the Penn program. Over 11 seasons, he has posted a 199-123 record and is riding seven-straight seasons of 20-plus victories. Through that stretch of time, his teams have won four Ivy League titles and the Big 5 twice.
 
2 • Penn had two transfers join the program since its last competition. Senior Nikola Kovacikova came to the Quakers in the Fall of 2020 from Georgetown, while junior Sydnei Caldwell joined Penn from Arizona State ahead of this season.
 
3 • The Quakers have four student-athletes from foreign countries: Kovacikova (Slovakia), Stina Almqvist (Sweden), and Sima Visockaite (Lithuania).
 
4 • At the beginning of the season, McLaughlin named four captains: Padilla, Kennedy Suttle, Mia Lakstigala, and Meg Hair.
 
6 • Penn returns six players that competed against the Hawks back in 2019-20, including starters Padilla and Suttle. Of the six players, they combined for 36 of the 74 points.
 
8 • The Quakers have eight student-athletes across their freshman and sophomore classes that enter the 2021-22 season looking for their first collegiate minutes. Jordan Obi and Michaela Stanfield are the lone sophomores that were with Penn last season for practice.