PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday night in a Big 5 battle with Saint Joseph's in The Palestra, 77-49.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Freshman Mataya Gayle led the Quakers with 14 points to go with three steals, three rebounds, and three assists.
 
*Junior Stina Almqvist recorded her first collegiate double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while adding a team-high two blocks.
 
*Senior Jordan Obi had another well-rounded evening, registering eight points, nine rebounds, three steals, a block, and an assist.
 
*Off the bench, freshman Abby Sharpe earned her first collegiate point, finishing the night 1-for-3 from the floor.
 
*The Quakers scored 32 points in the paint, 20 on layups.
 
How It Happened
The Hawks were first on the board as they attacked the rim right off the tip. Continuing from last game, Penn kept its aggressiveness on defense as Obi's initial steal of the game led to a layup by Gayle to put the Quakers on the board.
 
The Red and Blue trailed early in the game but soon went on a 6-2 run after a crafty crossover layup from Almqvist and a couple of jumpers from Obi and Gayle.
 
Penn's defense stayed aggressive, as it deflected ball after ball making it hard for SJU to score until the very last possession of the first quarter where the Hawks hit a tough lay up over two defenders giving them a slim 15-14 lead into the second.
 
The restart was no different from the first as SJU hit a layup out of the gate. However, Almqvist controlled the ball for most of the second quarter for the Red and Blue as the SJU defense couldn't stop the Sweden native in the post, faking out defenders on multiple occasions leading to an easy hook shot.
 
SJU's defense stepped up mid-way through the second, using a full-court press to force several turnovers and create a couple of transition layups.
 
The Quakers finally got free of the press nearing the end of the half when Simone Sawyer drained a three off an offensive board from Lizzy Groetsch. However, with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second, the SJU defense came up big with a block that led to a half court buzzer beater putting the Hawks up 33-25 at half.
 
To open the third, SJU hit a three, but the Quakers immediately responded with a strong Obi put-back that sparked an offensive run for the Red and Blue. After a pair of layups from Almqvist and Obi, the Hawks answered with a layup and a three on back-to-back possessions to put them up 12 before forcing the Quakers into a timeout.
 
SJU continued to attack the rim as it went on a 9-4 run, but a last possession three from Groetsch ended the quarter on a Quaker high, making the deficit 13 going into the fourth.
 
Though the Quakers saw a hand full of great looks throughout the last frame, the Hawks continued hitting shots to maintain their distance for the win.
 
Up Next
The Quakers will hit the road for the next four games, travel to New York this week to face Siena on Sunday. Tip is set for 2 p.m.