Penn women’s basketball breezes to 80-60 victory over Yale

The Penn women’s basketball team has had its struggles and arrived in New Haven needing to reset. That’s just what it did Saturday with a dominant performance against Yale, 80-60.
Four Quakers shared the bulk of the scoring: Stina Almqvist with 18 points (plus a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks), and Mataya Gayle, Simone Sawyer and Katie Collins with 17 apiece.

Mackenzie Egger hit a jumper to give Yale a 2-0 lead, but that was the only advantage it had all game. Gayle, the sophomore point guard, did much of her work to put Penn in front in the first minutes, repeatedly slicing toward the basket for layups and setting up her teammates for scores. Egger scored Yale’s first eight points, but Penn already had 18. Penn was comfortably ahead after the first quarter, 26-16, and extended the lead to 20 by the end of the third quarter.

Egger is the Ivies’ fourth-leading scorer (and leading rebounder) and was once again Yale’s strongest weapon, hitting a game-high 24 points on 10-for-21 shooting plus nine rebounds. Kiley Capstraw and Grace Thybulle had nine points apiece.
Penn’s press and zone defense harassed and frustrated Yale, resulting in 18 turnovers, including 10 steals. Penn scored 32 of its points off turnovers, to 12 for Yale. And a day after losing to Brown largely because of a barrage of missed threes, Penn was more selective and far more accurate from deep: 8-for-11, or 73%.
The biggest contributor: Collins, the 6-foot-1 freshman forward, who went 4-for-4 from deep. Even without her three-point shot, Collins probably would be the top contender for Ivy Rookie of the Year: She’s 11th in scoring, third in rebounds and first in blocked shots.
“We just shared the ball really well, I guess,” Collins told ESPN+ after the game. “We got it inside and out, which is really beneficial for us.”
Penn (11-9, 2-5 Ivy) faces a tougher challenge next Saturday when it travels to Princeton (15-5, 6-1). Yale (2-18, 1-6) will host Cornell (5-15, 1-6) for the battle at the bottom of the women’s standings.

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