PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team fell to Harvard, 53-42, in the 16th game of the season.

Penn moved to 10-6 following the loss, 0-3 in Ivy League play; Harvard improved to 9-7, 2-1 in Ivy League play.

Quaker Notemeal
*Mataya Gayle led all scorers with 16 points for the Red and Blue.

*Katie Collins scored 12 points, her seventh consecutive game scoring in double figures.

*Five Quakers recorded at least one steal and three (Gayle, Brooke Suttle, Simone Sawyer) recorded at least two.

*Abigail Wright finished with a double-double for the Crimson, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds. Karlee White and Saniyah Glenn added 11 points each.

How It Happened
The Quakers got off to a hot start, hitting their first three shots and taking an 8-0 lead just two minutes into the game. Gayle had the hot hand early on, nailing back-to-back three-pointers to kickstart Penn's offense. Tina Njike followed with a layup off of a dump-in from Collins, forcing Harvard to call a timeout. However, Penn forced the Crimson into a 10-second violation out of the stoppage and all seemed to be trending positively for the Quakers.

The Crimson missed their first five shots of the game as Penn extended its lead to double digits on a Collins floater but finally scored their first basket after a five-minute scoring drought as leading scorer Wright converted a layup off a fast break. She would go on to score another basket for Harvard shortly afterwards as the team began to pound the ball inside. An Alayna Rocco three-pointer in the final 30 seconds of the quarter cut the Penn lead to seven as the scoreboard read 14-7 at the end of the first period.

Both teams began to cool down offensively in the second quarter as no points were scored for either squad in the first two and a half minutes. Finally, Brooke Suttle muscled up an and-one for the Quakers first basket of the second period. However, Penn's offense struggled mightily after that as the Quakers missed their next six shots. Harvard took advantage, coming all the way back and taking its first lead of 17-16 with 2:55 left in the half. It was 19-16 at the break.

Harvard struck first in the second half as Wright flipped in another layup. The Quakers looked to muster up the same offensive flow they began the game with, as Njike hit with a three-pointer, but White immediately answered with a three of her own for the Crimson who went on another 10-0 run hitting five of their first six shots in the period. After another scoring drought lasting three minutes, Collins finally got the Quakers back on the scoreboard with a three from the top of the key. She also hit a pair of free throws as the Quakers cut the lead to single digits.

However, just like in the first half, Penn could not generate consistency on the offensive end as they failed to convert on a field goal over the last four minutes of the third quarter. As a result, Harvard's lead was 41-28 heading into the final period.

Three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Crimson lead was still ten as Penn called another timeout. Both teams struggled to hit shots in the fourth quarter, shooting a combined eight of 30 as Harvard kept the Quakers at bay throughout the period.

Up Next
Penn is at home one more time this weekend, hosting Dartmouth on Monday (MLK Day). The matchup with the Big Green is slated for a 2 p.m. tipoff.

For the latest on Penn women's basketball, follow @PennWBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.