PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball played overtime for the first time this season, but UC Irvine came through with the buckets it needed late to win 72-68 Thursday evening at The Palestra.
 
The loss is the Quakers' third in a row, falling to .500 at 3-3 while the Anteaters improved to 5-1 following a Philly sweep. UCI defeated Drexel at the DAC on Wednesday evening.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Three players scored in double-figures starting with Katie Collins, who led the Quakers with a career-high 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting. She finished with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
 
*Stina Almqvist recorded her 13th consecutive game dating back to last season when scoring in double-digits, adding 17 points with nine rebounds, and three assists.
 
*Ashna Tambe was a spark from three-point land for Penn, leading the bench unit with 10 points, burying a trio of treys. She also finished with three boards.
 
*Mataya Gayle nearly pulled off the rare points-assists double-double with nine and eight, respectively. She also grabbed four rebounds.
 
*Penn led UC Irvine in fast-break points, 11-3.
 
*The lead changed 21 times, tied 10 times. No team led by more than six points (UC Irvine with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter).
 
*For the Anteaters, both Hunter Hernandez and Summah Hanson scored a game-high 20 points. Hanson added 10 rebounds for the double-double.

How It Happened
Katie Collins scored Penn's first six points of the night, before UC Irvine took an 8-6 lead with 6:11 remaining in the quarter. Two three-pointers in a row for Sarah Miller and then another for Saniah Caldwell put the Quakers ahead 15-11 with 3:32 to go in the first. The Anteaters scored five of the next seven points, trimming the deficit to just one point at the first-quarter break. It was a back-and-forth affair for most of the second quarter, neither team giving an inch. UC Irvine took its first lead of the night right from the jump, but never led by more than one point. Penn, on the other hand, took a five-point edge in the stanza off two free throws from Collins with 50 seconds left before UCI cut it to three at the half. At the start of the third quarter, the 'Eaters re-took the lead at 36-35 following a jumper with 8:16 remaining and Mike McLaughlin immediately took a timeout that became the media. UC Irvine went on a 9-1 run to begin the half to lead 41-36 with 4:58 to go.
 
Penn cut the UC Irvine lead to three on Ashna Tambe's three-pointer and then she tied it at 46 on another with 3:15 to play. Summah Hanson gave the 'Eaters back the lead on a tip in with 2:32 to go, but Collins answered right back on a triple to take a 49-48 edge. The game went into the fourth quarter all tied up at 52-all.
 
It was a three-point party to begin the fourth as Hanson and Mataya Gayle traded long-range buckets over the first two minutes. Penn had a slim lead with 7:03 remaining when Almqvist scored on a jumper, but then UC Irvine took a 60-57 advantage on an Olivia Williams triple with 5:24 to go.
 
That score held for nearly three minutes when Collins converted on a shot from beyond-the-arc to tie the game at 60 with 2:27 left. Trailing by two points, Tambe unloaded her third three-pointer of the night to take a 63-62 lead with 1:44 to play. Fouled by Almqvist with five seconds left in regulation, Hunter Hernandez converted one of two of her free-throw attempts to send the contest to overtime tied at 63-63.
 
UC Irvine scored first in the extra period and never really looked back. Penn only got as close as one point following a foul shot for Almqvist as the Anteaters held on for the four-point victory.
Up Next
Penn hosts Division III foe Immaculata Tuesday evening at The Palestra. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
For the latest on Penn women's basketball, follow @PennWBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.