PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team hits the road this weekend to Massachusetts, battling Harvard on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
GAME 20: PENN (13-6, 5-1 Ivy) at HARVARD (11-7, 4-2 Ivy)
Saturday, January 28, 2023 | 2:00 PM
Cambridge, Mass. | Lavietes Pavilion
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats | History
 
The Series With Harvard
The Quakers are meeting the Crimson for the 90th time in program history with Harvard holding the edge in the series, 53-36. Penn has won six of the last 10 meetings including a thriller in the last matchup during the 2021-22 season. However, the Quakers trail in the series when competing at Lavietes Pavilion, as the Crimson have won 30 of the 43 games when we clash in Cambridge. The Quakers average 66.16 points per game against Harvard, totaling 5,888 through 89 games.
 
Last Time We Met
The two teams squared off last season in Cambridge on February 12 with Penn battling out an 87-78 overtime victory. Although the Quakers had a 41-26 lead at the half, the Crimson fought back with a 35-point fourth quarter to send the game to extra time. The final five minutes, however, were all Penn, outscoring Harvard, 12-3. Kayla Padilla led all Penn scorers with 23 points while adding seven assists, three blocks and two steals. Jordan Obi collected her fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds, knocking in three from beyond the arc.
 
About The Crimson
Harvard sports an 11-7 record entering the weekend, sitting one game out of the top of the Ivy standings with a 4-2 tally. Conference play started out incredibly well for the Crimson, dropping Princeton back on New Years Eve on national television, 67-59. They followed with three more Ivy victories against Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell However, they slipped twice earlier in January to Yale and Columbia, two teams the Quakers have topped in the first round of conference games. Harvard currently ranks second in the league in scoring, averaging 70.8 points per game. On the flipside, Penn has the second best defense in the conference, only allowing 56.7 points per game. The Crimson are paced by sophomore Harmoni Turner who leads the league at 17.9 points. Defensively, she also ranks third in the league in steals with 2.8 per game.
 
Controlling The Defense
Penn currently ranks second in the conference in defense, only allowing 56.7 points per game while bolstering a 9.4 margin. That success comes from well-rounded efforts that show on the stat sheet. Floor Toonders currently leads the Ivy League in blocks with 25 (1.3 per game), and ranks third in rebounding at 8.1 per game. She is joined in both categories with Obi. She ranks sixth in blocks (14) and fifth in rebounding (6.7 per game). The Quakers also occupy a top 10 spot in steals, as Mandy McGurk ranks 10th with 1.6 per game and 31 total for the year.
 
Chasing Former Teammates
In Saturday's game against Yale, Padilla added 21 points to her career total of 1,150 points in 66 games total. During the game, she moved up to 12th place in program history, passing former teammate Eleah Parker, a 2021 graduate who ended with 1,148 points. Next on the list is Cheryl Rath, who ended her career with 1,202 points.
 
Padilla also sits third in program history for three-pointers, now with 176. She is behind former teammate Phoebe Sterba, who graduated in 2020 with 186 threes.