Collins impresses early for the Red and Blue.
Credit: Lydia TongFor the second season in a row, Penn women’s basketball has the top first-year player in the Ivy League.
On Tuesday, the Ancient Eight announced its end-of-season women’s basketball awards, recognizing the top players and coaches of the conference this season. For Penn, freshman forward Katie Collins was unanimously named Rookie of the Year, making her the second-consecutive Quaker to earn the award after sophomore guard Mataya Gayle won in 2024.
Penn — who finished fourth in the conference and will face off against top-seeded Columbia this Friday in the first round of Ivy Madness — also saw senior guard Stina Almqvist named first team All-Ivy, and Gayle tabbed an honorable mention.
Collins has been no stranger to league recognition throughout her first season. The Manasquan, N.J. native was named Ivy Rookie of the Week nine times throughout the campaign, the second most in the history of the conference. That included a run of five-straight honors from early February to early March.
Collins’ greatest impact came on the defensive end, where she led the Ivy League with 1.7 blocks per game. She also finished fourth in rebounds per game (7.3) and seventh in steals per game (1.5).
In addition to her defensive impact, Collins averaged 10 points per game on 44% from the field. Arguably her best performance of the season came in the Quakers’ recent critical win over Yale. Collins racked up 21 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, and two steals.
“[Manasquan players] are college-ready and that means a lot,” coach Mike McLaughlin said of Collins and her high school playing environment earlier this season. “They’re surrounded by five, six, seven good college level players on their high school team, so their practices are better … and usually it gives them a better edge to succeed.”
Almqvist’s honor is the culmination of a dominant two-year stretch for the Swedish star. After playing less than 13 minutes per game in both her first two seasons, Almqvist burst onto the scene as a junior in 2024, leading Penn in scoring and earning an All-Ivy second team nod. This season, her ascent continued, with her 17.7 points per game ranking third in the conference and landing her on the All-Ivy first team.
Almqvist has been the conference’s most dominant post-scorer this season and the primary option for Penn’s offense. Her ability to create openings and convert tough looks inside has led to 11 double-digit scoring performances in Ivy play including a run of three-straight outings with over 24 points. Her 7.7 rebounds per game also placed her at third in the conference. Almqvist’s highest-scoring game of conference play came during Penn’s pivotal win over Brown, when she tallied 26 points on 65% shooting along with 12 rebounds to helm the Quakers to victory. The game also saw Almqvist cross the 1,000-point threshold for her collegiate career.
The win proved essential to the Red and Blue’s Ivy Madness chase, as it gave Penn a split in the head-to-head series with Brown. After the Quakers and Bears finished with identical conference records, an even score in head-to-head matchups, and the same records against the conference’s top three teams, the Quakers’ superior NCAA NET ranking ultimately broke the tie and earned them the bid.
“For me, it’s been a lot of fun,” Almqvist said of the more post-centric playstyle that she adopted as a junior and senior. “It’s opened up a whole new opportunity for me in the offensive side scoring-wise that I did not have before at all.”
Gayle’s sophomore season saw her build on a remarkable rookie campaign to become one of the conference’s premier point guards. She placed third in the conference in both assists per game (4.3) and assist/turnover ratio (1.6) while also remaining a constant threat to score. Her 12.3 points per game were second on the Quakers behind Almqvist, while her 1.4 three-point field goals per game were No. 13 in the league.
Like her fellow Ivy League Rookie of the Year Collins, Gayle’s strongest game of the season came against Yale, when she scored an in-conference career-high 26 points and dished out six assists.
“A bunch of 22 year olds are gone, now she’s playing with a bunch of 18 year olds,” McLaughlin said of Gayle stepping into a leadership role following the team’s win over Yale. “That’s a big leap for anyone. … I’m really happy with the growth that she has shown.”
Elsewhere in the Ancient Eight, Harvard’s guard Harmoni Turner earned the Player of the Year award after leading the conference in points per game (21.6) and steals per game (2.8). Columbia, the league’s regular-season champion, was also highly recognized with guard Kitty Henderson bringing home Defensive Player of the Year and coach Megan Griffith’s staff winning Coaching Staff of the Year.
Penn and Columbia will tip off Ivy Madness this Friday in Providence, R.I. with their semifinal matchup at 4:30 p.m.
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