PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team rallied late but fell to Cornell at home on Friday night, 62-58.

Penn fell to 12-7 overall, 2-4 in Ivy League play; Cornell improved to 8-11, 3-3 in Ivy League play.

Quaker Notemeal
*Mataya Gayle led the Quakers in scoring with 20 points, her second 20+ scoring game of the season.

*Katie Collins finished in double figures (13) for the tenth straight game, also recording a double double with 12 rebounds.

*Penn outscored Cornell in the paint 26-16.

*The Quakers recorded eight steals, Gayle finished with four.

*Emily Pape and Rachel Kaus scored a combined 38 points for Cornell.

*Cornell shot 47 percent from three-point range.

*Brooke Suttle was productive off the bench for Penn, scoring eight points with five rebounds and four assists.

*Penn outrebounded Cornell, 35-34, securing 11 offensive rebounds.

How It Happened
The Big Red struck first as they took a 5-0 lead early on by way of a Paige Engles layup and Emily Pape three-pointer.

Simone Sawyer responded for the Red and Blue with a three of her own, getting the Quakers on the board.

Mataya Gayle and Tina Njike each followed with another shot from behind the arc as Penn seemed to find an offensive rhythm.

But Rachel Kaus would not let her team surrender as she went on a personal seven point run as Cornell took a 14-11 lead at the first media timeout.

The Big Red continued to pile on points coming out of the timeout as they went on a 7-0 run in the waning minutes of the first quarter, causing Head Coach Mike McLaughlin to call a timeout.

After being on the wrong end of a 14-2 scoring outburst from Cornell, Penn finally was able to find the bottom of the net as Sawyer muscled up an and-1.

Cornell led 21-14 at the end of the first 10 minutes, scoring 10 points inside the paint.

Heading into the second quarter, the Quakers needed to find a spark and string together some consistent offensive possessions.

Abby Sharpe began the quarter with a driving hookshot followed by another layup by Gayle off a steal as Cornell called its first timeout.

After the timeout, Ally Pape nailed a three for Cornell as they retook a six point advantage.

Both teams traded baskets in the remainder of the first half, as Gayle began to heat up for Penn.

The junior scored seven of her 13 first half points in the second quarter, doing all she could to help her team.

The Quakers had it to within three with just over two minutes left til halftime, but Cornell scored the final four points of the quarter as they led 38-31.

Despite trailing at the half, Penn seemed to find momentum heading into the break as they battled on both ends to end the first half.

However, Cornell's dynamic duo would not make it easy for the Quakers to get back into the game as Kaus began the second half with a scooping layup and Pape hit a corner three.

The Big Red opened up the second half on fire as they scored the first nine points and hit three of their first four shots stretching their lead to 16, causing Penn to call timeout.

The Quakers hit a bit of a dry spell offensively to begin the quarter, missing their first four shots until Gayle picked up where she left off in the first half with an elbow jumper following the timeout.

The junior hit a corner three to cut the lead to 10 as Penn began to make a comeback.

The Red and Blue ended the quarter on a 12-0 run capped off by a Collins second chance layup at the end of the quarter.

Penn had it within four heading into the final period.

Both teams were aggressive to start the fourth quarter as they traded baskets for the first few minutes.

The game remained close all the way to the end as Penn kept chipping away at the lead, closing within three points under the four minute mark.

Both teams locked each other down defensively for a solid two minutes before Sawyer tipped in a layup to cut the Cornell lead to one with under two minutes left.

Kelsey Langston immediately responded with a three for the Big Red as they went back up by four.

Collins tried to will her team back into retaking the lead with a pair of baskets in the final thirty seconds but Cornell held on and secured their third Ivy League victory.

Up Next
The Red and Blue look to bounce back tomorrow against Columbia at the Palestra.

Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m.

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