LA JOLLA, Calif. – Senior captain Jordan Obi put together a 22-point performance, helping the University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team to a 76-68 victory at UC San Diego on Sunday evening to conclude its week in California.
 
With the win, the Quakers moved to 4-2 for the season, coming back to Pennsylvania with two wins out west.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn remains undefeated against the Tritons at 2-0, also earning a win on UCSD's court back in 2021.
 
*For the third time this season, four Quakers finished in double figures for scoring.
 
*Obi led all scorers with a game-high 22 points. In the first half, she put up 18 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor, 3-for-3 from deep. She added a career- and game-high four blocks, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals. She is the only player in the Ivy League with double-digit blocks this season, totaling 12 through six games. The next closest is eight by four different players. Additionally, she still leads the league in steals per game (2.7).
 
*Freshman Mataya Gayle knocked in 12 points to go with a game-high five assists.
 
*Junior Lizzy Groetsch narrowly missed her first collegiate double-double with 10 points (4-for-5) and a game-high nine rebounds. It's the second time this season she has tied her career high in boards, also hitting the mark in the season opener against Marist.
 
*Off the bench, freshman Abby Sharpe put together a perfect shooting performance, going 4-for-4 with two three-pointers and 1-for-1 at the line for 11 points. She added five boards and two assists.
 
*In her first collegiate start, freshman Ese Ogbevire chipped in nine points with three rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
 
*The Quakers shot .526 from the floor for the game, the second time this season and in the California trip they shot above. 500. They also shot .581 against Chapman.
 
How It Happened
Penn never trailed in the game, putting in the first bucket off a Stina Almqvist layup on the first possession. The Tritons responded with a jumper on the other end to draw the game even for the only time the rest of the way.
 
The Quakers turned the page with five straight points on a Gayle finish and an Obi and-one to put UCSD in the rearview mirror.
 
Although Penn always remained in the lead, the Tritons held onto a single-digit deficit through the entire first half. However, the spread pushed to as much as nine with Groetsch caught a dish from Saniah Caldwell in a fastbreak transition with 17 seconds left until halftime to push the score to 47-38.
 
The Tritons scored as the buzzer to send the Quakers into the locker room up seven, 47-40, shooting over 63 percent from the floor.
 
The eventual double-digit advantage came to fruition midway through the third frame when Sharpe completed a four-point play, drilling the three and finishing the free throw to give Penn a 59-49 lead.
 
The lead would swell up to as much as 14 points in the fourth quarter when Ogbevire hit a jumper in the paint, but the Tritons stuck around in the closing minutes. They chipped away at the deficit to get as close as seven with 34 seconds remaining. However, Gayle drilled two free throws in the final minute to seal up the Penn victory.
 
Up Next
The Quakers make a quick stop at The Palestra on Wednesday to host La Salle for another Big 5 clash. That's followed by another four-game road trip before wrapping up 2023 with back-to-back games against Maine and Gwynedd Mercy on December 30 and 31. Start time against the Explorers is set for 6 p.m.