PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team heads to New Haven, Connecticut this weekend to face the Yale Bulldogs on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m.
 
The Quakers enter the game after defeating Dartmouth on Monday for their first Ivy League win of the season.
 
GAME 18 - PENN (11-6, 1-3 Ivy League) vs. YALE (5-12, 1-3 Ivy League)
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 | 2 p.m.
New Haven, Conn.
Watch | Live Stats
 
THE YALE SERIES
This will be the 95th all-time meeting between the Quakers and Bulldogs. Penn leads the series 51-43, winning each of the last three. The Red and Blue beat Yale quite handily in both of last season's matchups, by an average of 16 points. Penn swept the season series against Yale last year for the second time in three years. Mataya Gayle led the way with 26 points for the Quakers, to go along with six assists and three steals. The last meeting between the teams in New Haven saw the Quakers dominate the Bulldogs in a 20 point victory on Feb. 1 2025. Four players scored in double figures, including current members Simone Sawyer (17), Katie Collins (17) and Mataya Gayle (17).
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Yale has struggled to start the season, especially on the defensive end. The Bulldogs have given up a conference worst 68.5 points per game, giving up at least 80 points in five games this season. However, the area where Yale does excel on the defensive side of the ball is on the perimeter as they allow opponents to shoot only 27 percent from behind the arc, good for second in the Ivy League. Offensively, Yale struggles from three-point land, ranking worst in the conference in three-point field goals made per game (3.8). The Bulldogs also have a tough time taking care of the ball, committing the most turnovers in the Ivy League this season (307). Despite their struggles, the Bulldogs are led by one of the most talented guards in the conference in sophomore Ciniya Moore. Moore ranks fourth in the conference in points per game (16.9). She has scored in double figures in every game this season except for one. Senior Kiley Capstraw is the main orchestrator of the offense, averaging a conference best 4.6 assists per game. Capstraw rarely comes off the floor for the Bulldogs as she is the leader in minutes played (36.5) in the Ivy League. First year forward Dorka Kastl has burst onto the scene as a defensive force inside the paint, leading the conference in blocks per game (2.5).
 
QUAKER NOTEMEAL VS HARVARD
*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.
 
QUAKER NOTEMEAL VS DARTMOUTH
*Tina Njike led the Quakers in scoring with 16 points and rebounds (13), her third double-double of the year.
 
*Simone Sawyer (15), Mataya Gayle (13) and Katie Collins (11) also scored in double figures for the Quakers and Collins once again flirted with a double-double with eight rebounds.
 
*Penn outrebounded Dartmouth, 41-35.
 
*The Quakers scored 36 points in the paint.
 
*The win was Penn's fifth of the season at home, first against a conference opponent this season.
 
PENN IN THE IVY STATS
• Penn leads the Ivies and entered the week seventh nationally in free-throw percentage (.793).
 
• Katie Collins enters the weekend second among Ivy League players in overall rebounds per game and blocked shots.
 
• Simone Sawyer is first among Ivy players in overall free-throw percentage, at .904.
 
• Gayle is third among Ivy players in overall assists per game (4.1)—behind Dartmouth's Zeynep Ozel (4.3) and Yale's Kiley Capstraw (4.6)—and fifth in steals per game (1.8).
 
AYE AYE, CAPTAINS!
Penn has five players leading the team as captains in 2025-26, tying a program record for a single season. The leadership group is made up of seniors Saniah Caldwell, Simone Sawyer, and Georgia Heine, as well as junior Gayle and sophomore Collins. There have been just two other seasons in program history when the Quakers had five captains: 2004-05 and 2020-21 (which was canceled due to COVID-19).
 
PENN WBB BY THE NUMBERS
8.1 • Collins' rebounds-per-game average so far this season; that is second among Ivy League players behind Alyssa Moreland (10.6)
 
13.0 • Collins points-per-game average this season; she scored 12 points against Harvard and 11 points in Dartmouth, her eighth consecutive game scoring in double figures.
 
30 • Blocked shots by Collins so far this season, second in the Ivy League trailing only Yale's Dorka Kastl (32); Njike is sixth, with 19 blocks.
 
57.1• Penn's points-per-game scoring defense this season, good for third among Ivy League teams (behind Dartmouth's 56.3 and Brown's 56.2) and 36th nationally.
 
79.3 • Penn's free-throw percentage for the season, highest in the Ivy League.