PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball squad heads north for the last time in regular-season play on Saturday, making the trip to New Hampshire for an Ivy League matchup with Dartmouth.
 
GAME 26: PENN (16-9, 8-4 Ivy) at DARTMOUTH (2-24, 0-12 Ivy)
Saturday, February 25, 2023 | 2:00 PM
Hanover, N.H. | Leede Arena
Watch (ESPN3) | Live Stats | History
 
The Series With Dartmouth
The Quakers are meeting the Big Green for the 87th time in program history. With the Quakers win in the first half of the conference season, the all-time series evened up at 43-43. Dating to the 2014-15 season, Penn is currently riding a 15-game win streak against Dartmouth, while winning 21 of the last 22 matchups. The only two losses for the Quakers since 2010 have taken place at Leede Arena: February 2014 and February 2011. Through 86 games, Penn has scored 5,283 (61.43 per game).
 
Last Time We Met
Penn clashed with Dartmouth in The Palestra on January 14, holding out for a 69-57 victory to extend its season win streak to 11 games and remain the only undefeated team left in Ivy League play at 4-0. Senior captain Kayla Padilla led all scorers with 21 points on 7-for-17 shooting and four three-pointers, while adding a game-high seven assists. Junior Jordan Obi added 7 points on 6-for-11 shooting and adding eight rebounds and three assists. Junior Floor Toonders notched her third collegiate double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while senior captain Mandy McGurk chipped in 14 points. At that point in the season, it was the fifth time that the Quakers had four players score in double figures.  
 
About The Big Green
Dartmouth is in search of its first Ivy League win of the season (0-12) and first win since December 10 when the Big Green topped Monmouth on the road, 71-56. Entering Saturday's matchup on a 17-game losing streak, they have won one game at home this season on November 16 against Merrimack, 68-65. Averaging 54.9 points per game, the Big Green are led by Victoria Page with 10.3 points per game on .375 shooting. Defensively, Emma Koch averages 6.7 rebounds per game.
 
Moving Up The List
Padilla has steadily moved up the all-time scoring list in Penn history, currently sitting with 1,274 points through 72 games for eighth in the record book. Last weekend, she totaled 46 points in two Ivy matchups, bumping her past Natasha Rezek (1991-93, 94-96) into eighth, and she hasn't even finished her third competitive season. She is 19 points shy of moving into seventh where Dionne Anthon (1988-92) sits with 1,293 points. To get to sixth, she'll need to catch 2016 Ivy League Player of the Year and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Sydney Stipanovich (2013-17) who finished her career with 1,386 points.
 
Eyes On The Last Three-Point Record
With a five three-point effort at Brown last Saturday, Padilla became the program's career three-point leader with 200. She bypassed Karen Habrukowich (2001-05) with 196 on her second bucket against the Bears. The senior captain now owns two three-point records in program history and has one more to finish the trifecta. Last season, she became the single-game leader with nine three-pointers against Memphis. For the 2022-23 slate, she currently has 71 threes, needing six more to tie the program record set back in the 1999-00 season by Mandy West of 77.
 
She is one of just two players in all of Division I that currently averages at least 17.7 points, 2.8 three-pointers, and 3.5 assists per game. The only other player is Iowa's Caitlin Clark at 27 points, 3.3 three-pointers, and 8.1 assists per game.
 
Defense Wins Ball Games
The Quakers currently sport the second-best scoring defense in the Ivy League, only allowing 59.1 points per game to opponents. The only team better is Princeton at 53.1, while the other six teams allow more than 61. Penn ranks second in the league in rebounds at 38.3 per game (957 total), behind Columbia at 43.1. The Quakers have two players ranked in the top five in the league in rebound: Obi and Toonders each tied for fourth with 7.6 per game. Toonders also leads the conference in blocks with 28 for the season, while McGurk ranks ninth in steals with 44.
 
A Look Ahead
With their win over Yale last Friday, the Quakers punched their ticket to Ivy Madness the second weekend in March at Princeton. With two games remaining in the regular season, all four spots have been locked up by Penn, Columbia, Princeton, and Harvard, but seeding still remains to be determined. The Lions and Tigers are currently tied atop the standings at 10-2, while the Quakers and Crimson are knotted at 8-4 for a tie for third. Ivy Madness will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11 at Jadwin Gymnasium. The semifinals, both airing on ESPN+, take place Friday at 4:30 p.m., for the No. 1-No. 4 matchup and 7 p.m., for the No. 2-No. 3 matchup. The championship on Saturday is set for 5 p.m., on ESPNews. You can purchase your tickets today HERE.