PHILADELPHIA – The win streak remained intact for the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team, securing its eighth straight win with a 62-54 victory over Cornell on Friday night in The Palestra.
 
The Quakers' win streak is the third longest in program history and the longest since the 2015-16 season, as they sit with a 9-5 record and a 2-0 start to Ivy League play.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Senior captain Kayla Padilla led all scorers with 27 points on 8-for-14 shooting, while knocking in a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. It's her fifth 20-plus scoring game of the season, the third highest total of the year only behind 31 against Marist and 28 against Temple.
 
*Senior captain Mandy McGurk tied a career high in assists, dishing out a game-high six helpers to go with seven points, four rebounds and two steals.
 
*Junior Jordan Obi commanded the boards, pulling in a career- and game-high 15 rebounds. She narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with nine points, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
 
*Freshman Simone Sawyer came to life in the third quarter with 10 points, totaling 13 for the night on 5-for-6 shooting with three from beyond the arc.
 
*The Quakers shots 48.8 percent from the floor, the second highest mark of the season only behind 54.2 percent in a 95-38 victory over Gwynedd Mercy.
 
*Penn shot 52.9 percent from three-point range, drilling 9-for-17. It's the best percentage this season.
 
How It Happened
It took two minutes for either team to find their first basket in the first quarter when Cornell struck first to go up 2-0. Following a pair of turnovers and a missed three-pointer, McGurk got the Quakers on the board with a triple to go back up by a point.
 
A 6-0 run to reclaim the lead courtesy of Padilla had Penn back up by two, but Cornell scored two buckets to lead by a pair heading into the media timeout with 4:21 remaining.
 

1Q 4:21 | Cornell 11, Penn 9

Back-and-forth battle already here in the first frame... Kayla Padilla with six of the nine for the Quakers including this and-one finish!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/YxegUbk4NQ

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) January 6, 2023

 
Coming out of the break, the Quakers' press forced a Big Red turnover into the arms of Padilla, who scooped up the ball and took it to the rack to tie the game at 11-11. Cornell managed to score five straight – all from Mia Beam – off two Penn turnovers to take a 16-11 lead, causing the Quakers to spend a 30-second timeout with 2:56 to play. Penn scored six in a row, capped off by a Floor Toonders trey to take a 17-16 lead at the end of the first stanza.
 
The Quakers started the second quarter off hot with five straight points, extending the run to 8-0, to take a 22-16 lead with 8:25 to go. Sawyer drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to take an eight-point lead, but Cornell scored twice and held the Quakers without a basket over the final two minutes to hold Penn to a 28-24 lead heading into the half.
 

2Q 8:24 | Penn 22, Cornell 16

Quakers out to their largest lead of the game, forcing the Big Red into an early second-quarter timeout following this great give-and-go connection between Obi and Toonders!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/RhhPvshu3R

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) January 6, 2023

 
Padilla led all scorers with 14 points through the first 20 minutes, shooting 50 percent from the field. She also added three rebounds and three assists. Penn shot 45.5 percent (10-for-22) from the field and 50 percent (6-for-12) from beyond-the-arc in the first half. In addition, the Quakers did their part on the defensive end, holding Cornell to just 32.3 percent (10-for-31) shooting and without a three-point bucket (0-for-7).
 
The third frame was all Sawyer and Padilla, firing off 10 straight points off the restart to build up a 14 point lead by the 6:13 mark. Sawyer kicked it off with a three and a layup, and Padilla followed with a layup and three of her own to force a Cornell timeout. The timeout proved slightly useful for the Big Red, scoring their first bucket of the half nearly five minutes in, but the Quakers continued to push eventually reaching a 15 point advantage by the end of the quarter after a fast-break layup by Padilla, 49-34.
 
Although Penn had a nice cushion going into the final frame, Cornell didn't go away. By the closing minute, the Big Red closed the gap to seven points, leaving the Quakers to do some work at the free throw line. Padilla went 2-for-2, and Sydnei Caldwell went 1-for-2 to keep a safe enough distance to register the 2-0 start to Ivy play.
 

Caught up with senior captain Kayla Padilla after the game after dropping 27 points on 8-for-14 shooting!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/r3mdaVFPh0

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) January 7, 2023

 
Up Next
Penn continues the homestand Saturday night with an exciting matchup against Columbia at The Palestra for Alumnae Day. Like Penn, the Lions are streaking as well, riding a program-record 10-game winning stretch with a victory over Princeton on Friday night. Tip is set for 5 p.m., streamed live on ESPN+.