LOS ANGELES – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team clashed with an undefeated USC on Wednesday afternoon in the Galen Center, trading the lead nine times with five ties but coming up short in its final game on the West Coast, 66-60.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Freshman Simone Sawyer, in her first collegiate start, led the Quakers with 18 points for the second straight game. Coming off a San Francisco game where she dropped six threes, she followed with four more from beyond the arc, shooting 4-for-7. She added three more career marks in the game with four steals, three assists, and three rebounds.
 
*Senior captain Kayla Padilla had a well-rounded game with 13 points, six rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
 
*Junior Floor Toonders posted a consistent shooting game, going 4-for-6 from the floor and a perfect 2-for-2 from deep with 10 points. She added eight rebounds to go with a career-high five assists, tying for a game-high with Padilla.
 
*Senior captain Mandy McGurk was the last Quaker in double digits, adding 10 points on 5-for-11 shooting. The point guard also had three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
 
*It's the first time four Quakers scored in double figures since January 29, 2022, against Harvard.
 
*The 15 assists by Penn were the most in a single game this season, following the next highest of 13 last game against the Dons.
 
*Nine steals marked the second time this season the Quakers hit that total, registering it at Saint Joseph's back on November 15.
 
*The game marked the first time Penn played USC in program history, and just the fourth against a Pac-12 opponent.
 
How It Happened
The Quakers didn't waste any time proving that they could compete with the Power 5 school, getting on the board first with a three from the right wing by Toonders. Although the Trojans answered with a three of their own, McGurk followed with a jumper and layup to push Penn ahead for a lead that held for the better part of the half.
 

1Q 6:40 | Penn 5, USC 3

FLOATER! Mandy McGurk hits the pump, drives the baseline and sinks a floater to put the Quakers up two. Trojans call timeout.#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/mHHQoivtYW

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) November 23, 2022

 
Toonders drilled her second three of the game by the midway mark of the quarter and Stina Almqvist added a layup later to help Penn carry a 12-10 advantage into the second frame.
 
The two-point lead quickly shifted to nine for the Quakers within the first minute of the next quarter, as Toonders and Sawyer ignited a 7-0 run that forced a USC timeout early and a momentum shift to Penn. Toonders kicked off the quarter with a nice connection with Padilla then Sawyer continued the stretch with a layup and a three.

2Q 9:01 | Penn 19, USC 10

Picking up where she left off on Monday at San Fran! Sawyer from the corner forces the Trojans to call an early second quarter timeout.#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/zK7rc08lXO

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) November 23, 2022

 
The 19-10 lead was closed slightly after the timeout proved useful for USC, scoring five straight, but Jordan Obi silenced it with a three from the right wing.
 
Penn held onto the advantage for much of the quarter, however, the Trojans chipped away until the game was tied with 50 seconds left until the half. A pair of free throws gave USC a one-point lead at the break, but it wasn't the last time the lead was sway.
 
Coming out of the half, Penn had a 7-4 run the involved a jumper by Padilla and a layup and three by Sawyer to push the Quakers back out in front, 40-38. The lead changed eight times in the quarter, with McGurk hitting a jumper for her eighth point of the night to keep in Penn's favor one last time, 46-45.
 
In the closing four minutes of the third, the advantage switched for the last time, as the Trojans wrapped up the frame with seven straight points for a 52-46 lead that held the rest of the way.
 
The fight continued in the fourth by Penn, never erasing an 11-point deficit to five. However, that's as close the Red and Blue got in the closing minutes. In the final minute, Sawyer drilled her final three to go with layups by Almqvist and McGurk.

4Q 7:00 | USC 56, Penn 51

Simone Sawyer getting it done on both ends! Steal then a transition three from the left wing... She's up to 13 point with three from beyond the arc.#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/innPtpE1ZA

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) November 23, 2022

 
Up Next
The Quakers head back to Philly for 11 straight games, traveling to La Salle on Tuesday next week before hosting a 10-game stretch in The Palestra. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m., at the Explorers.