ITHACA, N.Y. – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team used a strong fourth quarter to push past Cornell on Wednesday night at Newman Arena, completing the season sweep with a 70-57 decision.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn extends its win streak against the Big Red to 10 games, while recording its 20th victory inside Newman Arena in program history.
 
*Junior Kayla Padilla led all scorers with 25 points, going 4-for-7 beyond the arc and 9-for-12 at the line. It's her eighth game this season with 20-plus points.
 
*Senior Kennedy Suttle tied a career high in rebounds, pulling in 17 board, 11 of which were offensive. She set her career high of 17 earlier in the season at St. Francis Brooklyn.
 
*Senior Mia Lakstigala hit double-figures scoring with 16 points, following up her Saturday performance against Brown nicely where she set a career mark in scoring with 21.
 
*The game had 10 lead changes and six ties, while the Quakers built up their largest lead to 13 and the Big Red to seven.
 
How It Happened
The first quarter was tight for the full 10 minutes, as the teams combined for 43 points and the Quakers taking a slim one-point advantage into the second frame. The 22 points for Penn were spread across the board, as all seven players that saw the court registered points.
 
In the second quarter, it didn't take long for the Quakers to force the Big Red into their first timeout after Padilla drilled her first three of the night from the right wing just a minute into the restart. But the story of the half was the rebounding ability of Suttle. By the midway mark of the second, Suttle already had eight rebounds, most of which were on the offensive end.
 

Dominating the offense glass so far tonight! That's Suttle's eight rebound of the half, finding Lakstigala for a wide-open three!

Quakers ahead by five midway through the second.#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/YVTb4UmTv3

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 23, 2022

 
As halftime loomed, Cornell closed out the quarter with a seven-point run to take a 36-35 lead into the locker room. At the break, Lakstigala led the offense with 10 points, while Suttle already collected 11 rebounds.
 
The Big Red came out of the half with some offense, eventually hitting their largest lead of seven by the 6:29 mark. However, Jordan Obi cut the run with a three from the left wing to cut the Quaker deficit to four.
 
As the third came to a close, Padilla got the hot hand, firing off the final eight points of the quarter to give Penn a 51-50 lead.
 

End 3Q | Penn 51, Cornell 50

Kayla Padilla scores the final eight points of the third quarter for the Quakers, now leading all scorers with 17! She is 4-for-7 from beyond the arc with three of them coming in the third quarter alone!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/0GXrUu2Sos

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 23, 2022

 
As the fourth progressed, so did the lead for the Quakers. With just under 2:30 left in the game, a connection between Padilla and Lakstigala pushed Penn to its largest advantage to that point in the game of eight, which would eventually push to 13 before the final horn.
 

Quakers out to their largest lead of the night after this connection between Padilla and Lakstigala! #FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/wi6VOetUvl

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 23, 2022

 
Penn was sent to the line 10 times in the closing minutes, as the Quakers went 7-for-10 to seal up the victory.
 
Up Next
The Quakers return to The Palestra on Saturday for their final regular-season home game, hosting Dartmouth for Senior Day. Tip is set for 2 p.m.