Courtesy: Jennifer Werner, Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Release: 01/12/2007
PHILADELPHIA - The Penn women's basketball team led by as much as 16
points in
Friday night's game against Cornell, but was defeated 67-58 at The
Palestra. The
Quakers fell to 4-9 on the season and 0-2 in Ivy League play. Cornell
improved to
5-9 and 1-0 in Ivy action.
Penn came out fast in the first with a balanced game, scoring 22 points in
the
first 10 minutes while holding Cornell to a stingy six points. The
first-half
scoring was spread evenly between Monica Naltner, Joey Rhoads, Lauren
Pears and
Anca Popovici, while Pears also pulled down three defensive rebounds.
The Quakers shot an impressive 59.1 percent in the opening frame, besting
Cornell's
38.5 percent. The Quakers let the Big Red back into the game (allowing
them a 7-0
run in the last two minutes of the half), but held a 34-27 lead going to
the locker
room.
In the second half Cornell picked up where it left off, taking the lead by
three
with 13:42 left in the game. Penn tied the game at 49-49 with just over
six minutes
to play. Penn pulled within one on two other occasions after that, but
could not
regain the lead before time expired.
Rhoads led her team and tied for game-high honors with 17 points in the
game, and
moved ahead of Katarina Poulsen on Penn's all-time scoring list with 1,036
career
points.
Penn also got double-digit scoring from Nalter (12), Pears (11) and
Popovici (11).
It was the first game this season that Penn has had four players score in
double
digits, and for Popovici it was a career night as she bested her previous
high of
eight points (set just two games ago at Xavier).
Naltner led on the glass, ripping six boards, followed by Pears with five.
Cornell was led by Kayleen Fitzsimmons with 17 points while two others
scored in
double figures for the Big Red.
Penn will return to The Palestra Saturday night to face Columbia. The
Lions were
defeated in their Ivy opener Friday night at Princeton, 79-73. Columbia is
now 3-11
on the season (0-1 Ivy).
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