Senior guard Stina Almqvist entered a pantheon of greats by hitting the milestone of 1,000 career points — all while securing an important Ivy League victory.
In what turned out to be a 73-61 win for Penn (13-10, 4-6 Ivy) against Brown (10-13, 4-6), Almqvist entered the game needing only 13 points to become the 26th player in program history to reach 1,000 points.
Almqvist’s parents and younger sister were there for the game, coming all the way from her home country of Sweden to watch her play. Almqvist’s younger sister told her, “You better get it during my three games when I’m there.”
And Almqvist did, ending the game with a total of 26 points.
It was only fitting that she would hit the milestone in the month of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
“Where I grew up, there’s only 15,000 people. … The only pro team we have there is the women’s basketball team,” Almqvist said, “Since I’ve grown up, [women’s sports have always been] the thing. … I’m just really proud of coming from a place where women’s sports are so supported.”
She understood the importance of her achievement, hoping that as she once looked up to her older sister who now plays professionally in Sweden, her 12-year-old sister can do the same.
“[My younger sister] who just started her basketball journey, she can start looking up to us too,” Almqvist said.
Penn entered the game coming off of an exciting win against Yale. On the other hand, Brown was coming off of a loss at Princeton the day before. Both teams, vying for a spot in next month’s Ivy League Tournament, came out swinging.
“Everyone knew how big this weekend was for us,” Almqvist said.
In the first quarter, Brown’s man-to-man coverage was especially strong with players moving fast on their feet, forcing Penn to take awkward shots.
“I thought they outplayed us a little bit for most of the first quarter,” coach Mike McLaughlin said.
But the momentum shifted on Penn’s last possession of the first quarter. Sophomore guard Mataya Gayle shuffled and angled her body awkwardly to face the basket before launching the ball high above her Brown defender. The ball hit the net just as the shot clock buzzed and the first quarter ended, giving Penn a 15-12 edge and an offensive momentum at the end of the first.
With Penn’s offensive fire still hot, the Quakers opened the second quarter with “some pretty good team basketball,” according to McLaughlin. Almqvist assisted sophomore guard Abby Sharpe with a triple and then capitalized on a steal from freshman forward Katie Collins, good for two more points.
The Red and Blue’s lead expanded to 22-12 as Brown’s shots refused to go in and Penn excelled offensively. The end of the second quarter was all Almqvist, who made smart cuts to get easy baskets, securing her milestone of 1,000 career points before the half.
By the break, the Red and Blue were up 33-18 and were winning the margin game. They made more second-chance points, fast break points, and had higher three-point and regular field goal percentages than Brown at the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Brown picked up the pace, switching to a zone defense that seemed to knock Penn off balance briefly. Penn’s offense struggled to find an open look, while its defense also seemed to slow down and clump in the paint, leaving players open in the perimeter and leading to Brown three-pointers.
But with each Brown three-pointer and the roar of the Bears’ bench, the Quakers had an answer in freshman guard Sarah Miller, who made 4-of-6 three-pointer attempts and kept Penn’s offense alive. The Red and Blue seemed to crack Brown’s zone defense by running back quickly and slugging the ball to Miller before Brown’s players could get in their positions.
Entering the final quarter of the game, Penn pushed with the same intensity in the third quarter — as did Brown.
With one minute left in the game and Brown defenders swarming Gayle in the corner, Gayle swung the ball over to an open Almqvist, leading to an easy bucket. As Brown got the ball and other players started running towards the other end of the court, Gayle got in a steal and quickly added in another two points — bringing the players on Penn’s bench to their feet screaming.
Brown answered with quick three-pointers on its next two possessions, but it was too little, too late. Penn’s intensity and pace sealed its victory, ending the game with 11 second-chance points to Brown’s five and 17 points off turnovers to Brown’s four. Penn’s bench contributed a huge 30 points compared to Brown’s two bench points.
But it was Almqvist’s night, with the Penn Band coming out with a banner that read, “Congrats Stina 1000.” The team huddled in front of the banner and called Almqvist to come over.
“As a team, we’re just super close, and we’re just all super proud of her,” Miller said.
“Proud of her out here for a thousand, … but [also to] see what she’s doing for her family [and to see her journey from] taking a risk on this coaching staff that never met her outside of a bunch of Zoom calls,” McLaughlin said, referring to her recruiting journey.
“It’s more about the whole process and journey for these guys,” McLaughlin added.
“I’m blessed,” Almqvist’s father said after the game. “It was fantastic to see. I’m so happy, especially for Stina because she always fight, fight, fight, and finally I could see her smile.”
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