PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team continues its 10-game homestand this weekend, hosting a pair of Ivy League matchups against Cornell and Columbia.
 
GAME 14: PENN (8-5, 1-0 Ivy) vs CORNELL (8-6, 1-0 Ivy)
Friday, January 6, 2023 | 6:00 PM
Philadelphia, Pa. | The Palestra
Watch | International Stream | Live Stats | History | Penn Game Notes
 
GAME 15: PENN (9-5, 2-0 Ivy) vs COLUMBIA (13-2, 2-0 Ivy)
Saturday, January 7, 2023 | 5:00 PM
Philadelphia, Pa. | The Palestra
Watch | International Stream | Live Stats | History | Penn Game Notes
 
The Series With Cornell
The Quakers are meeting the Big Red for the 86th time in program history, as Penn holds a 64-21 lead in the all-time series. Dating to the 2016-17 season, the Quakers are riding a 10-game win streak against Cornell, while Penn has won the last six matchups in The Palestra, winning each by double digits.
 
Last Time We Met
The two squads squared off in Ithaca with Penn solidifying the season sweep with a 70-57 decision. It was a tight game until the fourth quarter when the Quakers hit a 19-7 stride to close out the victory. Kayla Padilla led the Penn offense with 25 points, while Kennedy Suttle tied a career high in rebounds with 17. The Big Red had three players in double figures led by a double-double effort by Theresa Grace Mbanefo with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
 
About the Big Red
Cornell enters the game with an 8-6 overall record, 1-0 in Ivy play after defeating Dartmouth at home in the opener on Sunday, 61-48. The Big Red has only played one familiar opponent this season as the Quakers, falling to Bucknell in overtime, 65-58, back on November 19. Penn topped Bucknell in overtime, 68-62. Ania McNicholas, fresh off an Ivy Player of the Week nod, leads the team in scoring with 12 points per game.
 
The Series With Columbia
The Quakers are taking on the Lions for the 72nd time in program history, with Penn winning 51 of the matchups. The Lions secured both games last season, the first time since the 2009-10 season that they took the season sweep. The Lion wins snapped an 18-game win streak against Columbia that carried back to the 2010-11 season. In program history, the Quakers have scored 4,861 points against the Lions, averaging 68.46 per game.
 
Last Time We Met
The two squads battled in The Palestra on February 4 last season with Columbia taking the 66-57 decision. The Lions took an early lead, but the Quakers closed the gap with a solid fourth that wasn't enough. Sydnei Caldwell had a career-high 20 points off the bench, shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Jordan Obi nearly closed on a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Padilla knocked in 11 points. For the Lions, Kaitlyn Davis and Abbey Hsu each knocked in 17 points, while Davis made it a double-double with 15 rebounds. There was six lead changes and four ties in the contest.
 
About the Lions
Columbia enters a two-game weekend with a 12-2 record, 1-0 in Ivy League before taking on Princeton Friday night on ESPNU. Riding a nine-game win streak into the Princeton game, the Lions' only two losses have come to Vanderbilt (74-63) and #7 Iowa State (99-76). They opened Ivy play with a 97-53 thrashing of Yale led by Jaida Patrick's 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Hsu leads the offense again this season, averaging 17.9 points per game on .446 percent shooting, .449 from beyond the arc.
 
Penn's Last Two Out
The Quakers extended their win streak to seven games this past week, wrapping up 2022 with a blistering 95-38 victory over DIII Gwynedd Mercy before cruising past Brown in the Ivy League opener on Monday afternoon, 74-53. Penn never trailed in either game, as they continue their perfect homestand since the beginning of December. Against the Griffins, 17 players saw time with 16 of them scoring, led by Obi with 12. Following a freshman season that had her sidelined due to an injury, sophomore Iyanna Rogers collected her first collegiate points in the game, knocking in 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Conference play tipped off the new year on Monday in The Palestra, with Penn using a 21-0 run in the first quarter to take a substantial advantage that didn't falter the rest of the way. Senior captain Mandy McGurk showed out in the Ivy opener, dropping a career-high 28 points on a career-high 12 field goals to go with a season-high five steals. The Quakers shot .424 from the floor for the game, while forcing the Bears into 22 turnovers, the most Brown has had in a single game this season.