PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team secured another Ivy League victory on Saturday night, completing a back-to-back weekend with a 67-53 decision over Brown in The Palestra.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Senior Mia Lakstigala put together a career night with 21 points, knocking in 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. She added seven rebounds and two assists.
 
*Junior Kayla Padilla had her lowest scoring total of the year with five points, but that's due to dishing out a career-high 11 assists. Her 11 helpers is the most by a Quaker in a single game since 2001 when Erin Ladley dished out 13 against Dartmouth.
 
*Junior Mandy McGurk had a career-high six steals to go with 10 points. The six steals is the most in a single game by a Quaker this season, with the second highest being Kennedy Suttle earlier in the year with five.
 
*Sophomore Jordan Obi registered her sixth double-double of the season, third in the last four games, knocking in 19 points to go with 11 rebounds.
 
*Penn turned 18 Bear turnovers into 21 points, while Brown only had four points off turnovers.
 
*The Quakers dominated the offensive board, out rebounding the Bears, 18-2, in that category. Because of that, Penn had 14 second-chance points while Brown had zero.
 
How It Happened
The Quakers jumped out to a quick 5-0 start to the game when Obi knocked in a turnaround jumper in the paint and Lakstigala followed with her first three of the night.
 

Quakers out to a quick start against the Bears! Jumper by Obi followed by a three in the corner by Lakstigala!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/Wtmilk4Iq0

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 19, 2022

 
Brown wasn't backing down, however, responding with its own points and eventually hitting its first lead of the game with 2:01 remaining in the first quarter, 14-12, after a fast break three. McGurk silenced the run with a jumper in the paint in the closing seconds to take a tie into the second frame.
 
The Bears never led the game after that, but they remained in striking distance early in the second. With 7:19 left in the half, Penn's defense dialed in, holding Brown without a field goal the rest of the quarter. In that span of time, the Quakers went on a 9-0 run to carry a 28-22 advantage into the break.
 
Fresh out of the locker room, Penn came out with six-straight points to take its first double-digit lead of the game. Lakstigala knocked down a jumper, Suttle converted a transition layup after a McGurk steal, and Obi turned a second chance into a jumper to push the lead to 34-22.
 

First double-digit lead of the game! Steal by McGurk and she teams up with Suttle on the other end!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/31i0i2PXd6

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 20, 2022

 
As much as the Quakers tried to put the Bears away, they stuck around by closing the gap to as much as six in the third and then hit a three at the buzzer to take an eight-point deficit into the fourth, 47-39.
 
In the final quarter, Brown continued to push and get within five, but the Quakers didn't let it get any closer. Down the stretch, big threes came from different players including Lakstigala and Marianna Papazoglou to put the game away and secure the victory.
 

Big buckets down the stretch! Papazoglou cashes in on a three from the left corner to bump Penn out to its largest lead of the game!#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/szGVM0Pe0J

— Penn WBB (@PennWBB) February 20, 2022

 
Penn closed out the game with 5-of-6 from the floor while holding the Bears scoreless in the final 2:04.
 
Up Next
The Quakers hit the road on Wednesday for their make-up date at Cornell, taking on the Big Red at 5 p.m., in Ithaca, New York.