The Crimson Defeats the Quakers 73 – 44 at The Palestra
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1/20/2025 –
The University of Pennsylvania hosted the Harvard Crimson in an afternoon game on Martin Luther King Day. The Quakers had an opportunity on their home floor to post a win against a team one game above them in the standings. Harvard is one of the top teams in the Ivy League and showed it throttling Penn 73 – 44. The Red and Blue looked for a consecutive Ancient Eight win, but the Crimson handed them a defeat.
“They’re a Top 35 in this country for a reason,” said Penn Coach Mike McLaughlin. “They are super talented. Tonight the first quarter was right where we need to gain the bay, and it’s a long game. That’s why they play forty.”
The Ball Got to the Basket for the Crimson
Harvard played a complete game in getting the victory. On offense by getting the ball to the basket for close in shots and fast breaks. Elena Rodriguez tied her season-high scoring 22 points making 9 of 12 field goal attempts. Harmoni Turner shot 6 for 13 and was a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line. As a team the Crimson shot 42.2%, but it was the shots from inside the arc that told the story where the team was 22 of 39 (56.4%). the differential in points in the paint was 38 – 24 for the visitors and 11 – 3 in fast break points.
“When we switched, they went down low,” McLaughlin said. “When you collapse on them, they kick it out for a three. It’s a tough matchup for anyone. We tried to pick our poison, and I don’t think we did a good job picking it.”
Producing from the outside for Harvard was Saniyah Glenn-Bello who scored 14 points and assisted 4 times.
Penn also produced from inside making 15 of 37 non-threes. Stina Almqvist led the way with 14 points and 4 assists while Katie Collins added 11 points. Both players took down 6 rebounds. Mataya Gayle added 8 points. The Quakers had 3 baskets from distance. The team could use a consistent third scorer.
“We need a few wings to step up and relieve the pressure on Stina and Mataya,” McLaughlin said. “That’s what we are going to get back at this week, and hopefully I can get one of these to start pulling away from everyone else, because there is a lot of pressure on both of them.”
Defensive Stops for Harvard
Harvard is an excellent defensive team giving up an average of just under 52 points per game. Penn was held to a season-low 44 points, and turned the ball over 16 times. The Crimson got 17 points off turnovers by the Red and Blue to 8 points. The opponents used pressure and quickness to disrupt the home team offense.
“They picked us up full court, which we expected,” said McLaughlin. “That’s what they do with everyone. We just never got into an offensive flow. They were challenging us in the full court, then the half court. I didn’t think we had a whole lot of rhythm.”
Third Quarter Turned the Game Toward Harvard
Penn started out well and had the game tied at 13 after one quarter. Harvard won the second quarter and held a 31 – 23 lead at intermission. The third stanza was where the Crimson achieved separation outscoring Penn 23 – 9. The deciding run was a 13 – 0 spurt keyed by Rodriguez who scored 8 points in that span. The Quakers were held scoreless for 4:16 until Almqvist got a bucket. She scored 8 of the 9 Penn points in the quarter.
Up Next
Harvard (14 – 2, 3 – 1) returns to Boston for a game with Yale on Saturday.
Penn goes to New York that day to face league co-leader Columbia. It is the start of a four game road trip. McLaughlin is asking his team to continue onward.
“I just said to them sometime you get you butt kicked a little bit,” said McLaughlin. “You gotta get back on it. Wednesday we’ll work to get to Columbia, and then go from there.”
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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