But with their newly elevated status, the Red and Blue also find themselves facing an even higher level of expectations. That doesn’t seem to bother the team very much heading into back-to-back games at home against Cornell (6-7, 0-0) and Columbia (3-10, 0-0) this weekend.

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Is Stat So?, a compilation of some of the most interesting stats to come out of Penn Athletics from the week. Each week, we'll highlight a few different numbers that go beyond the box score, and give deeper insight behind Penn's biggest wins and losses.

Penn men’s basketball has me convinced. They are legitimate, serious contenders for an Ivy title this year. If last year’s team could make the tournament at 6-8, this year’s edition should have no problem getting in with two or three losses. 

Penn men's basketball sophomore guard Ryan Betley made a lot of those in the Quakers' 76-70 win over Princeton on Saturday. His 21 points on 72 percent shooting garnered him the third Ivy League Player of the Week award of his career.

This iteration of the Quakers is probably the best squad the program has had in a decade. They play with intensity, energy, and athleticism. They've got fluid ball movement, three point sharpshooters, and two big men who pass as well as they score. They've got a great starting five, but they also have a deep and talented bench.

The much anticipated – and once delayed – Ivy League season opener stalled out the gate as neither team seemed able to land a punch: the first points came almost three minutes into the game. Once that was out of the way, the two archrivals treated those in attendance with one of the most exciting regular season games in recent memory: a 76-70 Penn win over defending conference champion Princeton. 

In its Ivy opener, Penn women's basketball fell to Princeton, 70-55. The Quakers (6-5, 0-1 Ivy) struggled offensively, while Princeton (11-3, 1-0), behind strong performances from junior Gabrielle Rush, sophomore Bella Alarie, and senior Leslie Robinson, proved too much for the Red and Blue to handle. Here are some takeaways from the game.

On Saturday, Penn women’s basketball fell to Princeton, 70-55 at the Palestra. The Quakers shot just 33 percent from the field, while the Tigers connected on 24 out of 51 of their shots, including 8 of 21 from three. 

2017 is over, but at least one thing isn’t changing in the new year. On Monday, Penn women’s basketball freshman center Eleah Parker was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for a third straight week.

The Rockets shot a season high 64.3 percent from beyond the arc, marching to an 85-73 victory over the Quakers. The loss snaps the Quakers (9-5) four-game winning streak, dating back to December 4. 

The win captured the NJIT Highlanders Christmas Tournament for the Quakers (6-4), who outscored opponents 159-90 across the two-game competition. Both games set new season records for margin of victory, and Parker earned tournament MVP honors. 

NEWARK, N.J. — It was all Quakers, all night long. Dominating from the beginning on both sides of the ball, Penn women’s basketball soundly defeated Virginia Commonwealth, 82-52, on Thursday night in the NJIT Highlanders Christmas tournament.

In Penn’s first home game in 39 days — and first game at all in 18 days — the Red and Blue showed absolutely no signs of rust against non-conference foe Delaware State. Boosted by an incredible 51.9 percent effort from three-point range, the Quakers set the school record for margin of victory against a Division I opponent, blowing out the Hornets, 105-52, for their fourth straight win.

For the second straight week, Penn women's basketball's Eleah Parker was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Parker is the first Quaker to earn the award in consecutive weeks since current senior Michelle Nwokedi took home four straight during the 2014-2015 season.

It took them eight games, but they’re finally hitting their stride.  On Friday, Penn women’s basketball began the next phase of its season with a dominant 84-66 victory over Rhode Island at the Palestra just one day after the end of final exams.

Penn women’s basketball might have only had one game this past week, but that one game was all it took for freshman center Eleah Parker to earn recognition as the Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

After playing seven games in just about as much time this past month, Penn women’s basketball will look rebound from a tough early schedule over winter break and look to come out with its heads held high.