PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team secured a Big 5 victory on Wednesday night in a return to The Palestra, dropping La Salle for the second straight year, 79-71.
 
The Quakers improve to 5-2 for the season, while the Explorers slip to 3-3.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*For the fourth time this season, four Quakers scored in double figures.
 
*Junior Stina Almqvist led the team with 24 points, the fifth time in seven games with 20-plus points. She shot 9-for-18 from the floor and 6-for-8 at the line, while adding six rebounds. At 19.7 points per game, she ranks third in the Ivy League for scoring. She also ranks fifth in rebounds per game (7.0) and sixth in field goal percentage (.490).
 
*Senior captain Jordan Obi also shot .500 from the floor (7-for-14), knocking in 18 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter alone to help seal up the win. She ranks top 10 in the league in scoring (13.3) and in rebounding (6.4), while sitting third in steals (2.3) and second in blocks (1.9).
 
*Freshman Mataya Gayle added another 18 points for the night, shooting 8-for-14 with two from beyond the arc. She added a career-high eight rebounds and three assists.
 
*Junior Lizzy Groetsch narrowly missed a double-double for the third time this season, registering 17 points to go with a tied career-high nine rebounds. A consistent 8-for-12 shooting has her hitting at a .500 clip for the season (29-for-58), good enough for fourth in the Ivy League.
 
*In her second straight collegiate start, Ese Ogbevire posted a team- and career-high five assists. Sophomore Saniah Caldwell dished out a career-high four assists, as the duo combined for nine of the 21 total for the Quakers.
 
*For the third time in four games, the Quakers shot over .500 for the game. Hitting 33-for-63, they shot .524 for the night, while knocking in 10-for-12 at the line. Penn is shooting .439 for the season, second best in the Ivy League, only behind Columbia's .440.
 
How It Happened
The Quakers built some early momentum with the opening seven points of the game. However, the Explorers chipped back into it, taking their first lead of the game midway through the frame.
 
Seeing the score sway back and forth for the next several minutes, Almqvist kicked off an 8-2 stretch to wrap up the first to give Penn a 23-20 advantage to take to the break. Gayle scored twice in the run, both on driving layups down the lane.
 
In the second quarter, the lead tilted into La Salle's favor one more time but another Gayle layup at the 8:11 mark ignited a 10-0 run for the Quakers to take back a lead that didn't falter the rest of the way.
 
The score remained close, as the Quakers didn't build a double-digit advantage until the fourth, pushing it to as high as 12 on a Groetsch layup.
 
Up Next
The Quakers hit the road for another four-game stretch until the holiday break, traveling this weekend to Milwaukee for a clash with No. 23 Marquette on Sunday. Tip is set for 2 p.m., eastern.