Winning weekend keeps Penn women in the hunt for an Ivy League tournament berth

On Friday afternoon, the Penn Quakers were just outside the Ivy League women’s basketball playoff picture. After two wins at the Palestra this weekend, Penn (13-10, 4-6 Ivy) is now tied with Brown for fourth place with four games remaining.

“Going into both games of this weekend, we knew how important it was because these are must-win games for us,” senior forward Stina Almqvist said. “I think we struggled a little bit at the beginning [of Ivy play], but I think more pieces are falling into place now, and we’re finding our rhythm,”

On Friday, Yale (2-21, 1-9) had no answer for freshman center Katie Collins, who led the Quakers to a 71-59 victory. Collins logged a career-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and five blocks.

On Saturday, Penn beat Brown, 73-61, behind Almqvist’s 26 points and 12 rebounds. The Bears (10-13, 4-6), who have lost four straight, shot just 36.5% from the floor.

» READ MORE: Penn’s Katie Collins is the latest freshman standout fueling the Quakers’ basketball success

Penn was without starting guard Simone Sawyer in both games. Coach Mike McLaughlin declined to comment on Sawyer’s absence but noted that he was “optimistic” Sawyer would return “sooner than later.”

Almqvist became the 26th player in program history to score 1,000 points on Saturday. The milestone came in the closing moments of the first half. Off a pick, Almqvist cut to the basket and was found by Collins. Almqvist converted the lay-in over two defenders.

A native of Sweden, Almqvist achieved the milestone in front of family visiting Philadelphia.

“Even before the trip, my sister, who’s turning 12 this year, was like, ‘You better get it during the three games when I’m there’. … Just to be able to do that and with [my family] in attendance, and also with such a great team win was really exciting,” Almqvist said.

Alongside Collins’ dominant performance on Friday, sophomore guard Mataya Gayle scored a season-high 26 points against Yale. The duo combined for 47 of Penn’s 71 points.

Gayle was Ivy League rookie of the year last season. With six Ivy rookie of the week awards so far, Collins is likely to follow suit.

“Katie’s a blessing … She’s so talented, so young, which is awesome that we’ll be together for more years,” Gayle said. “I feel like I’ve tried to do my best to try and take her under my wing, even though I don’t have that much experience.”

On Saturday, freshman shooting guard Sarah Miller was the underclassman to watch for McLaughlin’s squad. Miller made 5 of 9 three-pointers against Brown, finishing with 17 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

The battle for the fourth and last spot in Ivy Madness is likely to come down to Penn and Brown, but Cornell (7-16, 3-7) could still sneak in.

Meanwhile, Columbia (18-5, 9-1), Princeton (18-5, 9-1), and Harvard (19-3, 8-2) are locked into the tournament.

With Saturday’s win, the Quakers split the season series against the Bears. This negates the first tiebreaker if the teams find themselves with identical records at the conclusion of the season. From there, tournament eligibility would be determined by records against common opponents and finally NET ranking. Penn holds a slight advantage in NET, ranked 170 to Brown’s 183.

The final two games of Penn’s season come against Ivy tournament teams, Harvard on the road and then Princeton at home. The Quakers lost to both teams this season. Notably, Princeton has beaten Penn in 13 straight games dating to 2019.

“There were periods against Harvard that we competed with them, and then the floor got real open and they really hurt us,” McLaughlin said. “Princeton, we just started the game poorly, and they buried us early in that game. Not to give you coach-speak, but we’ve got to worry about Cornell.”

Penn will face Cornell at the Palestra on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN+).