A rebound performance: Penn women's basketball defeats Dartmouth 57-51

After a tough loss last week against Dartmouth, the Quakers rebounded and took home a 57-51 road victory against Cornell — where Penn's glass cleaning made the difference. 

Penn (10-6, 1-2 Ivy) and Cornell (4-12, 0-3 Ivy) entered the contest 0-2 in conference play, each looking for a much-needed win.

“We kinda knew that we had to win this game, especially for our long-term goals for the season," freshman forward Katie Collins said. "Not only did we have to bounce back from our Dartmouth game, but we just knew that we had to win moving forward."

The Red and Blue hit the ground running, opening the game by shooting 3/4 from deep. Within 4 minutes of the game, the Quakers held a commanding 10-3 lead. Penn kept the lead for the entire game, with their strong offensive rebounding and suffocating zone defense keeping them alive even during cold stretches in the first half. The Quakers played with quiet confidence, swinging the ball around the perimeter — giving up good shots to find a great ones.

After a quiet first quarter, senior guard Stina Almqvist took control of the second frame, draining several shots to become the second leading scorer for the Quakers with 7 points, right behind sophomore guard Mataya Gayle’s 8 at the end of the half. 

After halftime, Penn quickly gained a double-digit lead of 12 after a 6-0 run in the first two and a half minutes of the quarter. Gayle and Almqvist continued to lead the offense, but it was Collins who was instrumental in grabbing the rebounds for second-chance points.

“[Rebounding] was something I took really personally and made sure I did this game,” Collins said. “That was my main goal … everything else just followed from that.”

Collins had an impressive performance after a tough week of practice — being under the weather and only feeling better at the end of the week. 

"I was really proud of her,” coach Mike McLaughlin said. “[To] go out there and play … 36 minutes coming off of maybe one day of practice is really impressive … I thought she did a great job today.”

Penn continued its dominance into the third frame, but Cornell guard Clarke Jackson made some noise with a three-pointer just as the clock winded down, narrowing the Penn lead to 6 to enter the last quarter of the game.

But with every attack, Penn had an answer, refusing to let Cornell build any momentum. 

In the first play of the frame, Almqvist responded with a three-pointer of her own. Both teams started being more physical as the game neared its end, with jerseys diving on the floor and arms flailing in attempts to steal the rock. 

Three minutes into the last quarter, the Big Red’s last-minute grittiness cut Penn's lead to 4 points — the smallest lead difference in the second half. But the Red and Blue quickly responded and again brought back a comfortable lead of 10 thanks to both defensive and offensive rebounds and two timely layups from Gayle. 

From there, it was a battle of tug and war. Cornell guard/forward Rachel Kaus’ clutch three-pointer again shaved down the lead to 4. Sloppy passes and turnovers from the Quakers kept Cornell in the game — only 2 points behind the Red and Blue with a minute left in the quarter. 

With 44 seconds left in the game, Gayle made two free throws after being fouled by Cornell guard Paige Engels giving Penn a 55-51 lead. While trying to get the rebound on the next play, Collins hit Kaus in the nose with her elbow, giving Kaus a bloody nose. The physicality and aggressiveness of the players were very present in the last thirty seconds of the game. 

“The whole game was really physical, and I think we did a good job of stepping up and staying with them in terms of physicality,” Collins said. 

In the end, three missed shots in a row sealed Cornell's fate and the Quakers took home their first win in the Ivy League this season. Gayle and Almqvist were the game’s lead scorers, with 17 points each. Collins and Almqvist recorded double-doubles with 10 rebounds each. 

“We’re gonna keep this edge that we had this game and rebounding will be our priority for the rest of the season," Collins said. “In all of our losses it’s what’s made the difference, so I think that’s gonna be our biggest thing.”

“I’m excited that we came out on the floor and duplicated what we did in practice," said McLaughlin. “We focused hard on [rebounding] this week and we showed more of a commitment to … both ends of the floor of rebounding, and that’s a good sign going forward.”

The Quakers face the Harvard Crimson at the Palestra on Jan. 20 at 2 p.m., streamed on ESPN+.