ITHACA, N.Y. – It was a neck-and-neck affair between the Big Red and Quakers for the first three quarters, but Penn pulled away in the fourth, securing a 70-57 victory over the Cornell women's basketball team on Wednesday night at Newman Arena.

Led by senior forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo's team-high 14 points, the Big Red had three scorers in double figures in the loss, as junior guard Ania McNicholas scored 11 and sophomore guard Kaya Ingram added 10. Mbanefo added a team-high 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season, while shooting 7-of-10 from the floor. McNicholas contributed seven boards and three assists in addition to her 11 points, while Ingram dished out a team-high six assists and scored in double figures for the second time in the last three games.

With Cornell holding a slim 36-35 lead at the half, the Big Red took the first strike in a third quarter that was comprised of runs. With the Big Red trailing, 39-38, Cornell utilized its transition offense to get out on the run for easy points, piecing together an 8-0 run to take a 46-39 lead and force a Penn timeout with 6:29 left in the third. The Quakers responded out of the timeout, however, closing the quarter on a 12-4 run of its own to reclaim a 51-50 lead heading into the final period of play.

For as even as the first three quarters were, however, the fourth quarter belonged to Penn, as the Quakers outscored Cornell 19-7 in the period to secure the 70-57 victory. Although the Quakers shot just .250 from the floor in the quarter, it limited Cornell to a .182 percentage in the frame. Penn iced the game from the free throw line, shooting 12-of-16 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.

Penn's Kayla Padilla finished the contest with a game-high 25 points, while Kennedy Suttle cleaned the glass with 17 rebounds, 11 of which were offensive.

The Cornell women's basketball team will play its final road game of the Ivy League slate when it squares off against Yale on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. in New Haven, Conn.