Top 5 Penn basketball plays of the week: Harvard and Dartmouth edition

It was an up-and-down weekend across the Penn basketball world. While the men were swept by Dartmouth and Harvard in a disappointing road trip, the women pushed their Ivy League winning streak to seven games by locking down the Palestra in two dominant wins. Here are the plays that made our top five.

5. Kendall Grasela shows off the footwork

Penn women’s basketball came out of the gate firing in its win over the Crimson on Saturday. The Quakers opened the game on a 12-0 run. Setting the tone for this early momentum was senior guard Kendall Grasela, who took a fast break layup all the way to the hoop using a Euro step to get around the Harvard defender.

4. Eleah Parker’s passing prowess on full display

Later on in the Quakers early run against Harvard, with the team leading 17-4, junior center Eleah Parker found herself at the top of the key. Typically known for her skills in the paint, Parker proved that she could also facilitate. The center fired a nifty bounce pass through traffic to a cutting Phoebe Sterba who finished in the lane. 

3. Goodman’s steal and slam caps off the Penn run

While men’s basketball looked out of sorts all game in its loss to Dartmouth, the Red and Blue went on an early 11-4 run to spoil Dartmouth’s early lead. Capping this early comeback effort was the effort of senior point guard Devon Goodman, who took the ball away from Dartmouth to launch a fast break and slam it home.

2. Jordan Dingle’s four-point play builds Penn’s early lead

After disappointing on Friday, the Quakers were able to hang with Harvard for much of Saturday’s contest, even taking a lead into the locker room at halftime. One of the key plays in building this first half momentum occurred with just over four minutes to go in the half. After an AJ Brodeur screen knocked down the Harvard defender, freshman Jordan Dingle pulled up from the three point range. Despite getting knocked over, the freshman was able to connect on his deep ball setting up a four point play.

1. Eleah Parker says no

It was an all around stellar weekend for Eleah Parker, who tallied back to back double-doubles en route to winning Big 5 player of the week. Parker’s strong performance was not just a result of her offensive ability, as the center also chipped in on the defensive end, tallying four blocks across the two games. Parker’s best rejection of the weekend came in the second game versus Dartmouth, where the junior's block sent the ball flying into the first few rows of the stands.