Dartmouth no match for Penn women's basketball in 65-50 decision

It was uneventful, but it was a win.

Friday night at the Palestra, Penn women’s basketball moved one game closer to a potential Ivy League championship with a 65-50 win over Dartmouth.

Although the Big Green (12-17, 7-6 Ivy) began scoring after winning the opening tip, a quick trey from sophomore Lauren Whitlatch gave the Quakers (22-4, 11-1) the lead and set the tone for the rest of the evening.

It was the three that carried the Red and Blue on the night — they went 8-for-16 from beyond the arc as Whitlatch sank four of six and guards Anna Ross and Kasey Chambers each added a pair.

“I thought Kasey’s three up top was big,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin said. “Lauren always finds the basket. And I wanted Anna to shoot the three. I love it when it goes in, and I love it when she still takes it, because it spreads the floor. She can shoot the basketball.”

All of Penn's starters contributed to the evening’s effort, accounting for 63 of the team’s 65 points as each of the five scored in double digits.

Early on, it was junior forward Sydney Stipanovich who kept the Quakers afloat. After scoring six straight points for Penn, she dished the ball outside to Ross — one of a career-high six assists — and the sophomore sank a three to put the Red and Blue up 17-13 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

When Dartmouth’s Kate Letkewicz evened the score at 18, Chambers scored with 45 seconds remaining in the opening frame and McLaughlin’s squad never looked back.

“Dartmouth is a very good team and they’re always gonna come out hard,” sophomore forward Michelle Nwokedi said. “So we knew that we had to counter that and come out even harder and be on our A-game.”

Coming into the second quarter, a free throw from Nwokedi — who finished with a game-high 17 points to go with 10 rebounds and six blocks — was sandwiched by threes from Whitlatch and Chambers as the Quakers extended their lead to 31-18.

Dartmouth was held scoreless for the first seven and a half minutes in the quarter and, by the time the Big Green got back on the board, the game was effectively over.

Out of the break, Penn held a 35-26 advantage. It got bigger. Whitlatch nailed a pair of threes to go up 45-30 before Nwokedi brought the teams to the third quarter media timeout with a layup to extend the lead to 17. They’d take the 17-point lead into the final 10 minutes, 53-36.

“We just really wanted to come out in the second half and keep punching,” Nwokedi said. “And I think we did just that.”

The fourth quarter was quiet — save for Nwokedi and Stipanovich both securing double-double performances for the night. The lead stuck around double-digits as McLaughlin pulled his starters with a minute to go.

It was at this point — as junior forward Jackie Falconer hit a layup — that the Red and Blue got their first points from the bench on the night.

There may not have been a flurry of activity when the final buzzer sounded, but all that mattered for McLaughlin’s squad was that final scoreboard read Penn 65, Dartmouth 50.

And with that, they turn their focus to Harvard — who they host Saturday evening — one of two stops left on the road to a potential Ancient Eight title. The Quakers, along with Princeton, stand tied atop the Ivy standings at 11-1 apiece in conference play. With two games left, the two squads remain the only two left in contention for the title.

Just as with Penn's 2013-14 title run, a de facto championship game at Jadwin Gym is looking all the more likely.

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