Penn Women's Hoops Drop Season Finale to Harvard, 72-67

Jewel Clark and Mikaelyn Austin were honored before the game
during senior night festivities.

March 6, 2004

PHILADELPHIA - The Penn women's basketball team honored Jewel
Clark and Mikaelyn Austin as the two seniors played their final
game at The Palestra. Harvard earned a split in the season series
with a 72-67 win over the Red and Blue on Saturday night.

Penn (17-10, 11-3 Ivy) clinched the Ivy League title on Friday
night with a 78-61 win over Dartmouth but the Quakers were
undefeated against Ivy opponents at The Palestra and it was senior
night, two reasons to not have a let down against the Crimson
(15-11, 8-5 Ivy).

Harvard aided a possible let down by starting the game on an 8-2
run and led by 10, 24-14 at the 10:07 mark. The Quakers stepped up
the intensity, ripping off a 12-0 run that lasted three minutes -
25 seconds. Joey Rhoads and Monica Naltner sparked the run, hitting
successive jumpers. Each finished with 10 points off the bench, a
career-high for Naltner.

Jewel Clark knocked down a jumper at 7:41, sandwiched between a pair
of Cat Makarewich threes to give the Quakers their first lead of the
game, 26-24, with 7:07 remaining in the first frame. Clark finished
the game with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and finished the season
with 538 points, seventh in Penn history.

Harvard took a 39-37 lead into halftime but Mikaelyn Austin gave Penn
the lead out of half time, 40-39 with one of her three trifectas. Austin
finished with 15 points, going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.

The lead changed hands six times during the second half, with neither
team able to attain a lead larger than four points. Penn's largest lead
of the half was four, 52-48, on a Karen Habrukowich lay up at the 9:54
mark. The Quakers held their final lead at 67-65 with 2:24 left on the
clock on a Rhoads lay up.

Harvard scored the final seven points of the game on a trey and a pair
of free throws from Hana Peljto, who finished with 19 points (7-for-14).
Reka Cserny led all scorers with 21 points on 10-for-15 from the floor.

Penn will have some time off over the next two weeks. The Women's NCAA
Tournament begins on Saturday, Mar. 20. Selection Sunday, which will
tell Quakers fans where and who Penn will face in the opening round,
is on Mar. 14.

Written by Mat Kanan, associate director of athletic communications