PHILADELPHIA – Senior Mia Lakstigala recorded her first career double-double thanks to an 18-point, 10-rebound performance but it was not enough as the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team fell to visiting La Salle, 63-49, on Tuesday evening in Big Five action at The Palestra.
 
The Quakers (4-3, 0-2 Big Five) overcame a slow start to build a third-quarter lead before the Explorers (4-3, 1-0 Big Five) used a 14-0 fourth-quarter run to score the come-from-behind victory.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Lakstigala's first career double-double was also a tied career-high 18 points, shooting 6-for-15 from the field including a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.
 
*Sophomore Jordan Obi registered her sixth double-figure scoring game of the season, fourth in a row, with 14 points on Tuesday night. She shot .429 from the floor.
 
*Senior Kennedy Suttle recorded her second game this season of double-figure rebounds, pulling down 10 against the Explorers. The other game was at St. Francis Brooklyn, recording a career-best 17 boards.
 
*Junior Mandy McGurk came to life in the second half, scoring all eight points to go with six rebounds, three steals, and an assist.
 
How It Happened
Penn did not make its first field goal until over six minutes into the contest when a layup from Jordan Obi brought the hosts to within two at 8-6.
 
Obi's bucket was the only basket from inside the arc for the Quakers during the opening 10 minutes as a three-pointer from Mia Lakstigala gave the Red and Blue an 11-9 with under a minute remaining. The Explorers answered and took a one-point lead into the second frame courtesy of a buzzer-beating trey from Kenya Cote-Lysius.
 
During the first quarter, Penn shot 14 percent (2-of-14) from the field and committed eight turnovers. However, the Quakers did hit all six of their free throw attempts during the opening stanza. On the other side, La Salle had 10 turnovers in the first quarter.
 
Midway through the second, Obi scored in the post off a feed from Lakstigala to give Penn an 18-16 edge. The Explorers answered with a 6-0 run to take back the lead. A turnaround from Obi ended the La Salle surge and started a spurt for the Quakers.
 
Over the final three and a half minutes of the first half, Penn outscored La Salle, 10-4, to take a 28-26 lead into halftime. The Red and Blue held the Explorers without a field goal for the final four and a half minutes of the second quarter. The opening 20 minutes was tightly contested with neither team leading by more than four points.
 
After La Salle scored the first points of the third quarter, the Quakers reeled off nine of the next 11 points to build a seven-point advantage at 37-30. Penn's lead stretched to as many as nine late in third at 43-34 following a putback from Obi under 20 seconds left in the frame. The guests would score the final three points of the third as Penn held a 43-37 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Forty seconds into the fourth, Mandy McGurk scored following an offensive rebound to give Penn a 45-39 and La Salle promptly responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game with eight minutes left.
 
The Explorer run would extend to 14-0 before Jordan Obi knocked down a pair of free throws to bring Penn within six at 53-47 with just over two and a half minutes remaining. Penn went scoreless for nearly six and half minutes in the fourth quarter, committing three turnovers and going 0-of-11 from the field during La Salle's surge.
 
After Obi's free throws, the Explorers netted the next eight points as their lead swelled to 14 with one minute remaining in the game. 
 
Up Next
Penn hits the road for a showdown against regional foe Bucknell on Friday evening in Lewisburg. The Quakers and Bison are playing for the first time since 2013.