The Penn women’s basketball team, which lost its first three Ivy League games of the season, finally came away with a win over Dartmouth on Monday at the Palestra, 67-59.
With Yale’s convincing win at Cornell, that leaves Dartmouth as the only team winless in Ivy play. And though the Big Green trailed nearly all afternoon, it seemed more competitive than it has in the past couple of years.
Junior center Tina Njike was the biggest (as well as the tallest) factor in Penn’s win. Two days after she and the rest of the Quakers struggled against Harvard, she was once again a force on both ends of the floor, leading Penn with a double-double of 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting and 13 rebounds in 30 minutes on the court. She also had two blocks, as did her teammates Katie Collins and Saniah Caldwell. Senior guard Simone Sawyer had a commanding day as well: 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-5 on threes. Collins (11 points) and Mataya Gayle (13) also hit double figures.
Dartmouth did manage a three-point lead in the first two minutes, but it was bound to fall behind when it shot 29% for the first quarter versus Penn’s 46%. Still, the Big Green were within shouting distance, behind just 33-29 at the half. Penn built its lead and Dartmouth knocked it down to as little as six points but couldn’t get closer, and Penn went ahead by as much as 15 midway through the fourth quarter on a Sawyer three. Dartmouth narrowed the gap but never threatened to overtake Penn.
For Dartmouth, guard Alexandra Eldridge had 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting, along with a half-dozen rebounds.
The Penn victory Monday was some consolation after a Saturday afternoon of futility against Harvard. And it started so well for the Quakers: a 10-0 lead on 4-for-5 shooting, including a pair of threes from Gayle. The lead went to 12-2. Then came the drought: Penn hit an abysmal 10 baskets on 47 shots for the balance of the game and barely edged past 40 points. Gayle made a heroic effort, scoring 16 points on 6-for-16 shooting, which means the rest of the Quakers managed just 9-for-39 from the field, or 23%. Harvard, diminished this year with the graduation of Harmoni Turner and Elena Rodriguez, escaped West Philly with a 53-42 win.
Penn (11-6, 1-3 Ivy) travels to Yale (5-12, 1-3) on Saturday. One of them will emerge with a two-game Ivy winning streak, a path toward respectability and, in this topsy-turvy season, still a shot a spot in the Ivy tournament.