The Quakers Drop to 2 – 4 in the Ivy League Women’s Basketball Standings
PHILADELPHIA, PA 1/30/2026 –
The University of Pennsylvania found their two-game winning streak come to an end as well as their sixteen-game streak over the Big Red of Cornell with a 62 – 58 loss at the Palestra. It was the first win for the Big Red at this historic venue since February 6, 2015, and first win against Penn since February 26, 2016. The loss hurts more because the Red and Blue dropped to 2 – 4 in the Ivy League in sixth place behind Cornell and Brown.
“This is one, a team right with us on our court, that we needed to find a way to get it,” said Penn Coach Mike McLaughlin. “And now we have a difficult task Columbia coming in, and Princeton again. It’s going to put us against the wall, and now we have to find a way.”
How it Happened
Sometimes the game is simply explained by one team shooting better than the other. This was especially true in the first half when Cornell shot 57.1% (16 of 28) while Penn was good on 41.4% (12 of 29) to hold a 38 – 31 lead.
That trend continued into the third quarter when the Big Red used a 9 – 0 run over the first 3:10 of the quarter to take a 16-point lead on a basket by Rachel Kraus. The Red and Blue called timeout. Penn Coach Mike McLaughlin called timeout and challenged his team to make a comeback.
The Comeback Started
The rally started with a field goal by Mataya Gayle at the 6:39 mark. It began a 12 – 0 run by the Red and Blue to cut the deficit to 47 – 43 after three quarters of play.
Penn began to pressure Cornell. The pressure defense was more intense in the second half and disrupted the Big Red offense.
“It was 6:50, I wrote it on the board,” said McLaughlin. “I told them the time, 6:50 left in the third and we’re down sixteen. Let’s try to get this to a manageable number in the next five minutes. And we finished the quarter on a 12-zero run.”
The Fourth Quarter
The teams played even over the first six-plus minutes. Gayle drained a three-pointer with 3:41 on the clock. The teams would not score over the next two minutes. Then a follow up by Simone Sawyer made the score 55 – 54 for the Big Red.
The dagger three came when Kelsey Langston was good on a shot from beyond the arc with 98 seconds remaining. Knaus was good on a free throw with just over a half minute to play and Cornell led 59 – 54.
“I thought when they got their lead, our pressure did affect them. It helped us,” McLaughlin said. “We just couldn’t get it out of the gate. We just didn’t defend well enough.”
What the Numbers Say
Gayle scored a game-high tying 20 points on 8 of 16 shooting and was 4 of 9 from distance. Katie Collins recorded her third double-double of the season getting 13 points and 12 rebounds. Saniah Caldwell handed out a game-high 6 assists.
Cornell cooled off from the floor and made 8 of 22 (36.4%) in the second half. The Quakers for the game made 23 of 63 and 8 of 28 from three-point land, compared to the Big Red shooting 24 of 50 and 8 of 17.
Penn had 13 more field goal attempts, but one less bakset.
Emily Pape led Cornell with 20 points while Knaus added 18. Langston had 5 assists.
The Big Red outexecuted the Red and Blue for forty minutes according to McLaughlin.
Up Next
This is a traditional Ivy League Weekend, so the team will not wait long for the next time on the court. Columbia comes to the Palestra. The Lions are tied for first place in the Ancient Eight. After that Penn will go to Princeton. There is much ground to make up for the Red and Blue, and the schedule is a tough one right away.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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