Courtesy: Jennifer Werner, Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Release: 01/13/2007
PHILADELPHIA--Senior Ashley Gray scored a career-high 21 points to lead
the Penn
women's basketball team to a 80-62 victory over Columbia, Saturday at The
Palestra.
It was the first Ivy League win for the Quakers who improved to 5-9 on the
season
and 1-2 in Ivy play. Columbia dropped to 3-12 and 0-2 in the League.
Penn's 80-point performance was the highest score in Head Coach Patrick
Knapp's
tenure. It was also just the second game of the season in which four
player
registered double digits in scoring.
The game was dominated by the Quakers from the get-go. Columbia held a
three-point
lead after five minutes of play, but it was the largest lead the Lions
would have.
The one-point lead for the Lions, at 9:39 in the first, was their last of
the night.
After keeping it close in the first part of the half, Penn distanced
itself with a
18-5 run before heading to the locker rooms with a 42-30 advantage. The
12-point
margin was the largest halftime lead for the Quakers, this season.
Seniors Lauren Pears and Ashley Gray scored nine points each in the first
while
Gray pulled down five boards and Pears nabbed two steals and dished five
assists.
In a reversal of last night's game, it was the Red and Blue that kept
running in
the second extending its lead to 25 thanks to a steal by Joey Rhoads and a
layup by
Gray. Pears tacked on an assist on the play and finished the night with
10, a
career high. Combined with her 15 points, she marked her first
double-double of her
career.
Gray came close to a double-double with eight rebounds and 21 points in
the game.
Monica Naltner led all players with nine off the glass.
A clean game, Penn went to the line just three times in the game while
Columbia was
5-for-9 from the charity stripe.
Penn will take a short two-day rest and be back in action on Tuesday, Jan.
16 at
Manhattan. It is the first ever meeting of the teams and will take place
at Draddy
Gymnasium in Riverdale, N.Y. The tip is set for 7 p.m.
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