PHILADELPHIA - A career-high day in scoring from senior captain Ashley Russell helped provide a spark for the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Quakers took down NJIT 85-42. With the win, Penn now sits at 3-1 on the year.

PENN NEWS AND NOTES
*Russell finished with 25 points, improving on her career high of 21 set last year at Dartmouth, on 10-of-13 shooting with a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the behind the 3-point line. Russell's .769 shooting percentage is the best for a Penn player when making at least 10 field goals since Sydney Stipanovich went 12-for-15 on Dec. 29, 2014 against UMBC. Russell also brought down a team-high eight rebounds and four assists. 

*Russell was joined in double figures by Princess Aghayere with 12 and Michae Jones, who continued her standout sophomore season, with 11. 

*Penn shot an even 50 percent from the field (32-for-64), its best clip since shooting 50 percent at Dartmouth last season. The Quakers are 9-1 when hitting at least 50 percent shooting from the field under Coach McLaughlin.

*Penn went 12-for-24 from 3-point land, its best shooting percentage from deep since March of 2017. The Quakers improve to 27-0 all-time under Coach McLaughlin when hitting at least 10 3-pointers. 

*Penn's 51 points in the first half were its most since going for 54 in 20 minutes against Yale in 2016. 

*Freshman Meg Hair notched the first points of her collegiate career with a 3-pointer in the third quarter. 

*The Quakers are 3-1 for the first time since 2015.

*The 42-point win is the largest for the Quakers against a Division I opponent since a 74-26 victory against Cornell on Jan. 31, 1981. 

*Penn improves to 4-2 all-time against the Highlanders, the fourth-straight win over NJIT. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
A slow start on offense for the Quakers led to an early 4-0 lead for the visiting Highlanders, but Penn would quickly regroup to grasp control of the game. Down 7-4, Penn went on a 12-0 run midway through the opening period and would take a 23-12 lead after 10 minutes of play, holding NJIT scoreless for over four minutes in the process.

The senior combination of Russell and Aghayere proved to be lethal for the Quakers in the second period, as the duo combined to score 24 of Penn's 28 points, helping the Red and Blue go on a 13-0 run to end the half. The majority of that run came on a personal 11-0 burst from Russell, including three-straight 3-pointers, who went into the locker room already even in her career-high of points with 21. 

Penn continued to find efficiency in the second half, either disrupting the NJIT offense to find fast break points in transition, or swinging the ball across the court in its halfcourt sets to get an open look in a five-on-five game. The Quakers would use a 9-0 to close the period, holding the Highlanders to another scoring drought, in firm control at 68-28. 

With the victory secured, Coach McLaughlin used the opportunity to get some minutes for his new faces on the squad. All 16 players who dressed saw at least six minutes of action on the floor.

QUOTING COACH
"This has been a really long and challenging opening week for us. I thought they responded terrifically, they were terrific." 

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Quakers have a week off from competition after a busy first week of games, returning to action following the Thanksgiving holiday at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md. next weekend. Penn will battle the host Midshipmen on Saturday, Nov. 24, before squaring off against Maine on Sunday.