PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team concluded Big 5 action on Sunday afternoon at Temple, falling to the Owls, 61-47, at the Liacouras Center.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Junior Stina Almqvist led all scorers with 18 points on 5-for-14 shooting, 3-for-7 from three, and 5-for-8 at the free-throw line.
 
*Freshman Mataya Gayle finished with 14 points (6-for-16), her sixth straight game in double figures.
 
*Senior captain Jordan Obi narrowly missed her third straight double-double, pulling in a game-high 10 rebounds to go with nine points.
 
*Freshman Ese Ogbevire came off the bench for four points, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the line.
 
*The game saw six lead changes and one tie.
 
How It Happened
The first quarter was heavily defensive for almost four minutes, seeing one bucket fall for each team. The Owls scored first before Gayle drilled her first three of the game by the 6:27 mark to give Penn the 3-2 advantage.
 
The break in the game didn't come until there was only 1:54 left in the frame, already showing five lead changes and knotted up game at 10-10. In the closing two minutes, Temple hit back-to-back layups to carry a narrow 14-10 lead into the second quarter.
 
A quick 5-0 start to the quarter by the Owls pushed them ahead by nine, however, four straight free throws by Ogbevire closed the gap back to five by the 7:41 mark. Over the course of seven minutes, Temple steadily built up a double-digit advantage, eventually carrying a 32-21 lead to the locker room.
 
At the half, Gayle led all scorers with eight points, shooting 3-for-6 from the floor with two from deep.
 
Almqvist turned it on for the Quakers in the second half, scoring 14 of her game-high 18 points in the final two quarters, knocking in three from beyond the arc. However, an even 13-13 third quarter was followed by a 16-13 Temple fourth that didn't close the gap closer than six for the Quakers.
 
Up Next
The Quakers return to action after the holidays, hosting a pair of games at the end of December in The Palestra. They'll host Maine on December 30 before taking on Gwynedd Mercy on New Year's Eve. Both tips are set for 1 p.m.