PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team fell on Friday night in The Palestra, 68-58, to Yale in an Ivy League tilt.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Sophomore Jordan Obi led all Penn scorers with 16 points including 4-for-5 at the free throw line.
 
*Junior Kayla Padilla added 15 points and a game-high five assists. She has led the team in assists in the last seven games, bringing her season average up to 4.1 per game.
 
*Senior Kennedy Suttle led the team in rebounds with eight, while adding nine points including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. She holds steady at 8.2 rebounds per game, a mark good enough for fourth in the Ivy League.
 
*The Quakers used a series of runs including a 13-0 stretch to overcome a 20-point deficit to get within one of the Bulldogs.
 
*Penn had a clean game with the ball, turning it over just 12 times compared to Yale's 20. The Quakers converted 18 points off turnovers.
 
*The Quakers won the paint game, outscoring the Bulldogs 26-22 inside.
 
How It Happened
A fast start by the Bulldogs had Yale taking a 26-11 advantage through the first quarter. Yale built up its largest lead at the start of the second, getting as high as 20, but the Quakers were starting to heat up.
 
A timeout by Head Coach Mike McLaughlin after the 20-point deficit proved useful, as Penn came out of the break on an 8-0 run to close the gap to 12. Obi knocked in two free throws before Suttle and Padilla went back-to-back from beyond the arc.

Quakers closing the gap! Suttle with a three and Padilla follows on the next position with another!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/cJ55cy94rU

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 18, 2022

 
Later in the quarter, senior Mia Lakstigala got in on the three-point game, then freshman Lizzy Groetsch worked into the scoring with four-straight points on a layup and two free throws to get the Quakers within nine of the Bulldogs with 1:14 left in the half.
 
Obi and Padilla handled the rest of the second quarter, with Obi hitting a step back jumper in the paint and Padilla going 2-for-2 at the line to take a slim 37-32 deficit into the locker room.
 
At the restart, Obi opened the scoring with a finish in the paint, then Padilla and Groetsch later went a combined 4-for-4 at the line to get the Quakers within one, 39-38, at the 7:34 mark of the third.
 
Yale responded in a strong way, hitting a run of its own to push back out to a double-digit lead that Penn couldn't stay with offensively.
 
In the fourth, the Quakers put up stout defense, holding the Bulldogs without a field goal for over five minutes, but Yale continued to perform at the free throw line to hold out for the win.
 
Up Next
The Quakers continue Ivy League weekend in The Palestra on Saturday night, hosting Brown for a 6 p.m., tip.