PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team opens a three-game home stand on Saturday, hosting Harvard in The Palestra.  
 
GAME 18 – PENN (7-10, 2-3 Ivy) vs HARVARD (9-9, 3-3 Ivy)
Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 | 2 p.m.
The Palestra | Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch on ESPN+ ($) | International Steam | Live Stats
 
Penn-Harvard Series
Penn and Harvard are meeting for 88th time in program history, with the Crimson holding the 52-35 lead in the all-time series. The Quakers own a slight 22-21 edge in the series for games played in The Palestra, while Penn enters the game with a nine-game win streak against Harvard on its home court. In the Mike McLaughlin era, Penn sports a 14-10 record, while posting the program's longest win streak against the Crimson of nine games from 2014 to 2018. During that stretch, Penn held Harvard to its fewest points inside The Palestra in program history, scoring just 43 back on February 3, 2017.
 
Last Time We Met
The two teams clashed in The Palestra on February 22, 2022, with the Quakers taking a 70-48 decision for their seventh straight victory. The win marked McLaughlin's 100th Ivy League triumph. Kayla Padilla led all scorers with 23 points including six three-pointers, at that point just one shy of the program record. Since then, she cashed in on seven earlier this season during an overtime loss to Memphis. Eleah Parker notched her fifth double-double in a seven-game stretch, scoring 10 points to go with 10 rebounds. Penn held Harvard to just 25 percent shooting for the day.
 
About Harvard
The Crimson enter the game with a .500 record overall (9-9) and in Ivy play (3-3). Their longest line of wins this season was three back in December all on the road, defeating Northeastern (75-43), Colgate (93-53), and Saint Joseph's (73-70). Harvard has won its last two games in conference play, topping Dartmouth (96-62) and Cornell (89-47) at home. The Crimson have three players averaging double figures in scoring led by Harmoni Turner with 15.3. Harvard leads the league in scoring, averaging 72.3 points per game. The team also ranks second in field goal percentage (40.5 percent), and first in three-point field goal percentage (34.0 percent).
 
Prior to the season, Head Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith announced she will be retiring at the conclusion of this season, her 40th with Harvard. Entering this season, she had 617 wins and 360 Ivy victories, the most by any coach, of any sport for men's or women's, in the history of the Ivy League.
 
Penn's Last Time Out
The Quakers fell to Columbia on Wednesday, 61-56, after a fourth quarter push by the Lions secured their 5-0 start in Ivy play. Mia Lakstigala tied her career high with 18 points, scoring all 12 points for Penn in the first quarter. She drilled four three-pointers at a 50-percent clip. Kennedy Suttle led the defense with game highs in rebound (13) and steals (3). Padilla added 14 points, while Jordan Obi added 10 in the paint.
 
Defensive Strength
Penn currently ranks 26th in the country in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a 35.5 shooting percentage this season. Only Princeton sits in front of the Quakers in the category, sporting a 35.2. A big part of that success comes from blocks, leading the Ivy League in blocked shots (78) and blocked shots per game (4.59). Obi has been a key cog in that area, ranking fourth in the conference in both of those categories with 25 blocks at 1.5 per game.