EVANSTON, Ill. – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team got within three in the closing minutes but fell on the road to Big Ten's Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday afternoon, 63-55.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Senior captains Kayla Padilla and Mandy McGurk led the offense with a combined 35 points.
 
*Padilla had 20 points, 15 in the second half, while pulling in a career- and team-high seven rebounds.
 
*McGurk had nine points at the half, finishing with 15 for the day, adding four assists and three steals, both game highs.
 
*Jordan Obi (9), Stina Almqvist (7) and Floor Toonders (2) combined for 18 points to wrap up the starting group.
 
*Senior Faye Parker came off the bench in the second half for nearly eight solid minutes, pulling in a tied career-high four rebounds, while adding two points and a steal.
 
*Freshman Simone Sawyer made her second appearance of the season, playing over 13 minutes in her first game back in Illinois since her high school state title with Stevenson last year.
 
*Penn's best run of the game came in the fourth quarter, hitting 11 straight points to get within five, 54-49.
 
*The Quaker defense held the Wildcats to 33.8-percent shooting, while Penn posted a 34.4.
 
*The matchup with the Wildcats is the fourth in program history, twice under head coach Mike McLaughlin.
 
How It Happened
The Wildcats took the early 5-0 lead, an advantage that wouldn't falter the through the full 40 minutes, but Penn battled until the end to get within three in the closing minutes.
 
McGurk cut the 5-0 run with a three-pointer to kick off a double-digit game for the senior. Several minutes later, Almqvist joined the scoring with a three of her own to put the Quakers within two, 9-7.
 
Northwestern never got to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and Padilla capped off the frame with her first jumper to cut the deficit to seven at the break, 20-13.
 
The second quarter saw an early command by the Wildcats, hitting a 9-0 run to build out their advantage to their largest lead of the half, 29-14, at the 5:42 mark. Obi silenced the stretch with a three pointer, then later a McGurk layup off the feed from Toonders.
 
At the half, Northwestern carried a 34-23 lead to the locker room, as McGurk paced the Penn offense with nine points.
 
The Wildcats kicked off the restart with the first basket, but Obi and Toonders sandwiched a three by Northwestern to keep the deficit within striking distance. By the 7:25 mark, Padilla set the Quakers out on a 7-0 run with a jumper and later a three-pointer to put Penn within seven. McGurk joined in on the scoring, forcing a steal and cruising on an open court in transition for two quick points.
 
The Northwestern offense heated up in the latter part of the third, getting to its largest lead of the game with one minute left in the quarter, 54-38. The Quakers trimmed it down by four before the break off an Almqvist layup and McGurk jumper.
 
Their two buckets ignited Penn's 11-0 run that continued into the fourth with a Parker jumper and five points by Padilla to get within five, 54-49, with 7:35 remaining. As time ticked down, the advantage for the Wildcats would as well. By the 3:05 mark, McGurk found Obi for another three to send the Penn bench to an uproar, as they trailed by just three, 58-55.
 
However, that's as close as the Quakers would get in the closing minutes, with Northwestern hitting a three and two free throws down the stretch to secure the decision.
 
Up Next
The Quakers return to Philly for a pair of Big 5 games this upcoming week, traveling to Saint Joseph's on Tuesday before hosting Villanova on Thursday night in The Palestra for the home opener. Start time for both games is 7 p.m.