In a battle of defenses, fortune favors the Bears.
Penn women’s basketball fell to Brown 77-65 in double overtime Saturday afternoon.
The Quakers (10-5, 0-2 Ivy) entered play in Providence hoping to notch their first Ivy League victory of the season. Instead, they were met by Brown (10-4, 2-0) seeking revenge after a second-straight season tying for fourth in the conference.
Brown entered the game off a three-game win streak, led by breakout Brown forward Alyssa Moreland, who put up 23 points against Yale last Saturday. Moreland leads the conference with an average of 10.7 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from the field.
The Quakers struggled to convert in the first quarter, as they tried to shoot almost exclusively from beyond the arc during the first five minutes of regulation. Junior guard Mataya Gayle notched all seven of the Quakers’ early game points after a five-minute scoring drought.
Gayle led the Quakers’ scoring efforts with 18 points over 49 minutes of play, only being substituted for a brief section of the second overtime period. Sophomore forward Katie Collins put up her second double-double of the season, notching 11 rebounds and 13 points over 48 minutes of play.
The Quakers entered the second quarter having been outscored 16-7 by the Brunonians, but gained some momentum after a three-pointer from sophomore guard Brooke Suttle.
The break between the first and second quarters foreshadowed a change in the Quakers’ momentum that would come to define the late game. Brown’s possessions were defined by poor shots forced by Penn’s full-court press that sent the Bears to shot-clock violation territory.
The game grew more physical as more Quakers scored, sending players to the free-throw line on offensive fouls. Despite her double-double, Collins was notably off-rhythm from the onset of the game, not scoring until making it to the free-throw line midway through the second quarter.
Turnovers turned into steals turned into buckets as the second quarter dragged on. Senior guard Saniah Caldwell notched two critical three-pointers late in the second quarter, reducing Brown’s lead from nine to four as the half closed. The Quakers outscored the Bears 17-12 on the quarter, but the early deficit was still too much to overcome.
The third quarter was much of the same, with offensive fouls running rampant on the court followed by trips to the free-throw line. Empty Quaker possessions after a Collins bucket opened the quarter as the Bears went on an uncontested 6-0 run led by forward Ada Anamekwe and forward Isabella Wesley.
Brown entered the game with the second-best defense in the conference, narrowly beating the Quakers, who allow an average of 55.9 points per game. The Bears put their best foot forward with a defensive rotation strategy that forced breaks in the Quakers’ lineup and empty possessions.
Offensive rebounds kept the ball in Brown’s possession late in the third quarter, preventing the Quakers from closing the lead. However, these offensive rebounds didn’t convert to points for the Bears until a critical final rally in double overtime.
Moreland seemed intent on protecting the paint for the duration of the fourth quarter, which was quickly foiled by a quick bucket from Collins and a steal from senior guard Simone Sawyer. Back-and-forth play ensued as the Bears aimed to protect their lead while the Quakers showed an impressive late-game effort to tie the match.
Collins’missed late jumper from the paint sent the game into the Quakers’ first overtime since the 2024 season.
Young opened overtime with a jumper from the free-throw line to give Brown an early lead, which Caldwell quickly answered as the Quakers obtained their first lead of the game.
Repeated trips to the free-throw line with less than a minute on the clock from the Quakers mirrored the Ivy opener, where the Tigers pulled away with seven points on the free-throw line in the final minute of regulation.Suttle tied the game with a free throw, while Gayle pulled away to re-establish a Quaker lead.
A conversion from Moreland off of Arnolie tied the game once again as Young blocked Sawyer on the final Penn possession, sending the game into the Quakers’ first double overtime since 2019.
The players was notably fatigued as the 46th minute of play approached. While Brown relied on regular substitutions from the bench, Penn primarily employed the same six players, despite injuries to multiple starters.
“You expect to play 40 [minutes], and when you go to 10 [more minutes], you just got to find a way,” coach Mike McLaughlin said in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Multiple missed passes by the Quakers paved the way for the Bears to pull away with jumpers, three-pointers, and free throws.
Penn’s penultimate possession ended in a shot-clock violation after failing to convert, while the Bears went to the free-throw line for easy points.
Despite being the least accurate team in the conference at the free throw line, with a 62.3% average, Brown shot 77.8% from the free-throw and 36.8% from the field. Critical overtime free throws from the Bears gave a decisive lead over the Quakers, which the team ultimately could not overcome with less than a minute remaining.
“I think there’s moments in the game [where] we looked really, really good,” McLaughlin said. “We struggled a little bit out of the gate, but overall, outside of that final score, we competed and just came up short.”
The Quakers return to the Palestra to face Harvard on Jan. 17.
