PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team hosted its home opener on Thursday night in The Palestra, falling to No. 24 Villanova, 67-41.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*The Quakers were led by three different players with eight points: senior captains Kayla Padilla and Mandy McGurk, and sophomore Stina Almqvist.
 
*Nine different players scored in the game.
 
*Junior Floor Toonders led Penn in the rebounding game with nine. Penn tied the Wildcats with 44 rebounds. It's the second time this season the Quakers pulled in 44, doing the same in the season opener at Marist.
 
*Four Quakers saw their first collegiate minutes in the game: sophomore Iyanna Rogers and freshmen Saniah Caldwell, Georgia Heine, and Helena Lasic. Caldwell earned her first collegiate point in the outing, going 1-for-2 at the free throw line.
 
*In her first game of the season, Marianna Papazoglou drilled a three, going 1-for-2 from the floor in six minutes of play.
 
How It Happened
The first quarter was a battle between the two squads, with neither team taking more than a three-point advantage and the lead swayed seven times.
 
Penn registered the first bucket in the game on a jumper by Almqvist, and she followed it up with another jumper in the paint after a Wildcat three for a 4-3 lead.
 
Four quick points by Nova were answered by Padilla with her first three of the evening, then junior Jordan Obi added her first points of the night on a jumper to retain the lead again. Before the end of the first frame, Padilla drilled another three to push Penn ahead by one, but two free throws and a jumper by Nova gave it a 16-13 advantage after one.
 
Padilla's three to put Penn ahead was the last time in the game the Quakers had the lead, as the Wildcats built out a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter. Villanova used a 26-14 frame to carry a 42-27 lead into the half.
 
The second half saw bright spots later in the game, with Penn winning the fourth quarter, 10-9, including solid minutes out of the freshman class in their first collegiate minutes. With under three remaining in the game, Caldwell hit a free throw for her first points, while Papazoglou capped off the scoring with 14 seconds left on a right-wing three.
 
Up Next
The Quakers head west next week, touching down in California for the second straight year. Penn will play at San Francisco on Monday before heading to Los Angeles on Wednesday for a bout with USC. San Francisco tip is set for 2 p.m., EST.