PHILADELPHIA – Junior Sydnei Caldwell came off the bench for a career- and game-high 20 points, but the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team slipped to Columbia on Friday night in The Palestra, 66-57.
 
The Lions improve to 16-3, 7-0 in Ivy League play, while the Quakers fall to 7-12, 2-5 in the conference.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Caldwell led all scorers with her 20 points, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. She added a nearly perfect outing at the free throw line, going 5-for-6, while adding four rebounds.
 
*Jordan Obi and Kayla Padilla also finished in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
*Obi and Kennedy Suttle led the rebound game for the Quakers, each pulling in nine.
 
*The game had six lead changes and four ties, but the Lions held the advantage for 27:02.
 
*Columbia won the paint game, outscoring Penn, 38-20, but the Quakers' bench outscored the Lions' bench, 22-18, mostly due to the breakout performance by Caldwell. The other two bench points came from Michaela Stanfield on the final basket of the game.
 
How It Happened
Right out of the tip, the Lions drilled a three by the hands of Columbia's Abbey Hsu, who finished the game with five from beyond the arc. However, the back-and-forth battle started off when Mia Lakstigala converted a turnover into two points on the other end.
 
Penn earned its first lead of the game following a second-chance layup by Suttle before Obi knocked down her first three of the game to push the Quakers ahead, 9-6.
 

Jordan Obi for THREEEE! Quakers out front in the first, 9-6, against the Lions!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/FcTi8D0wXb

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 4, 2022

 
By the end of the first quarter, it seemed Penn might go into the break trailing by five, but Caldwell knocked in her first three of the game in the closing seconds to cut the deficit to two, 19-17. At the start of the second, a familiar sight happened when Caldwell got the scoring underway with her second-straight three to give Penn a 20-19 advantage.
 

Sydnei Caldwell with her second-straight three! One to cap of the first quarter, and opens the second frame with another! The junior with eight points to lead the Quakers!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/xoOWDw0MdM

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 4, 2022

 
By the midway mark of the second, Caldwell already had 12 points to tie her career best, a mark she hit in 2020 when she played for Arizona State. However, the Lions carried a slight 33-29 lead into the locker room.
 
The third quarter was controlled by the Lions, outscoring the Quakers, 16-8, and pushing their largest lead of 14 within the first minute of the final frame.
 
The Quakers didn't let that deter them, hitting an 8-0 run midway through the fourth to cut the deficit to four. Padilla and Obi dropped in back-to-back threes while Caldwell capped off the stretch with a strong drive down the lane for the layup.
 
Columbia responded on the Penn comeback, hitting a 7-1 run itself to pull back ahead and hold out for the final decision.
 
Up Next
The Quakers continue their Ivy League weekend in The Palestra on Saturday afternoon, hosting Cornell at 4 p.m.