It was pretty much a make-or-break game for the Yale women, and Penn’s Kayla Padilla broke them.
The Quakers ran away from the Bulldogs, 72-58, and left them with only the slimmest of chances of reaching the Ivy League Tournament — while securing a spot for themselves.
As she so often has during a COVID-shortened career, Padilla led the visiting Quakers in scoring. At one point in the second quarter, she had 18 points when the Yale team had just 12. She ended up with 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting, and her five threes (on nine attempts) left her one short of the Penn career mark of 196, set by Karen Habrukowich. That mark has stood for 18 years, and it probably won’t last another day. Padilla also dished a team-high four assists.
With Padilla’s hot hand early in the game, Yale was generally playing catchup, and it never did catch Penn — though a buzzer-beating three by Jenna Clark cut the lead to seven at halftime. In the third quarter, though, Penn worked the ball inside more effectively while still hitting four of its five threes and pushed its lead to 21 points. The lead reached 24 points more than midway through the fourth quarter, and Yale never really threatened. On the day, Penn hit 48% of its shots, and fully half of its threes.
Clark led Yale with 14 points and six assists, and Yale outrebounded Penn, 45-32, with most of the difference coming at the offensive end. But the Bulldogs hobbled themselves with 19 turnovers, most of them unforced. And against a characteristically stingy Penn defense, Yale shot 37% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc.
Junior forward Jordan Obi picked up a double-double for Penn, with 14 rebounds and 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Freshman guard Simone Sawyer, who has often focused on the three, was driving aggressively and scored a dozen points on 4-for-8 shooting. And senior point guard Mandy McGurk, who generally focuses on ballhandling and defense, had four steals and eight points on 3-for-4 shooting; one of her threes came on a deep heave as the shot clock expired, after McGurk had to scramble for a loose ball. It was that sort of night for Penn, and for Yale.
Yale hosts league-leading Princeton on Saturday afternoon, while Penn visits Brown.