Stina Almqvist had a triple big day Saturday: game highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds against Brown, a victory to keep Penn’s postseason hopes alive, and elevation to the elite club of Quakers with 1,000-point careers.
The 6-foot-1 senior became the 26th Penn woman to reach the milestone; her father and sister were at the Palestra for the event, visiting from Sweden. “My sister said, ‘You better get 1,000 while I’m here,’ and I did it for her,” Almqvist told ESPN+ afterward.
The 73-61 win pulls Penn into a tie with Brown for fourth place in the Ivies, and barring a total collapse, one of them will join Columbia, Princeton and Harvard in Ivy Madness next month. Penn and Brown have split their games against one another. In their remaining four scheduled games, Penn and Brown will each face two of the big three.
Two weeks after losing a close match at Brown, Penn was more effective on both ends of the court and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the day. Brown led by as much as four points in a low-scoring first quarter, but point guard Mataya Gayle sank a three at the buzzer to give Penn a 15-12 edge, and it never trailed again. The Quakers built a 33-18 lead by halftime and led by as much as 19 in the third quarter.
Almqvist had a hot hand – 11-for-17 from the floor – but she wasn’t the only one. Freshman guard Sarah Miller came off the bench for 16 minutes and poured in 17 points (14 in the third quarter alone) on 6-for-10 shooting, including 5-for-9 on threes. And Abby Sharpe kicked in 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
On the whole, Penn shot 44% from the field while holding Brown to 37%. The Quakers also held meaningful advantages on rebounds (36-31), second-chance points (11-5) and especially points off turnovers (17-4).
Senior center Gianna Aiello led Brown with a strong presence inside: 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks. On the outside, juniors Grace Arnolie had 17 points and Beth Nelson had 13.
Penn is back in the Palestra Saturday to play Cornell, while Brown hosts Harvard.
