Women’s basketball fell to Penn, 68-63, on Saturday after four quarters of evenly scored, fast-paced plays. It was anyone’s game until the final three minutes of the last quarter, when the Quakers (14-10, 5-6 Ivy) surged ahead and got the best of the Red (7-17, 3-8 Ivy) by getting in a three-pointer, followed by a succession of shots in the paint.
Cornell played a hard-fought game, matching the Quakers’ intensity. The final score came down to who was more dominant getting rebounds after missed shots. In the remaining minutes of the game, Penn was able to rack up those second-chance points over the Red.
“Something we could have improved upon is definitely second chance opportunities,” said senior forward Summer Parker-Hall. “Our rebounding wasn’t the best that day. I would say a couple mental mistakes down the end of the game, but we fought really hard and tried our best out there.”
Parker-Hall led the Red in scoring with 17 points. She is also the season leader in points for the 2024-25 season and has been a standout player during her time at Cornell.
Saturday’s game brings women’s basketball precariously closer to the end of the regular season. Looking ahead, there are three additional games that will decide the top four teams in the Ivy League that will qualify for the Ivy League Women’s Basketball Tournament, or “Ivy Madness.” So far, three teams have a comfortable spot in the tournament: Princeton, Harvard and Columbia. The final spot is up for grabs, and Cornell will fight for it.
Cornell will focus on scouting — a key way for players to read their opponents and anticipate their plays — for the last few games of the season.
“We’re going to be really focused on scouting,” Parker-Hall said. “Because we’re at the point in the season now where we’ve played these teams already, they already know our best moves. They know our best plays, and we know theirs. It's going to come down to predicting what they're going to do and stopping them so they can’t get their shot off.”
The Red will battle Yale at 3 pm this Friday, Feb. 28 at Newman Arena for a spot in the Ivy Madness table. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Additionally, women’s basketball will have their senior night on Saturday against Brown for the final home game of the season, also streamed on ESPN+.
“I’m really proud of this team and the fight that we had this season,” Parker-Hall said. “I’m very blessed to be at Cornell and pursue my academic and athletic career here, and I’m excited to finish the season off with my best friends.”
