PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team used a game-defining second-quarter performance and a career-high 14 points off the bench for sophomore Tina Njike to defeat Delaware State, 72-45, Friday afternoon at The Palestra.
 
The Quakers (8-3, 0-0 Ivy) improve their win streak to five consecutive games, while the Hornets (3-9, 0-0 MEAC) dropped their fifth in a row. Penn completes the calendar year with a 4-2 mark at home.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn wins its fifth consecutive game, the team's longest winning streak since 11 straight in 2022-23. That streak is the program's second-longest all-time.

*The Quakers even the series over the Hornets, 1-1, in the first meeting between the two schools since 2003.

*Three players had double-digit points, led by a career-high 14 off the bench for Njike. Freshman Sarah Miller added 13 points, while Stina Almqvist had 11.

*Almqvist ups her double-digit point streak to 18 straight games dating back to the end of last season. It's Penn's longest streak since Eleah Parker had 10+ points in 26 straight games during the 2018-19 season.

*Katie Collins finished with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. 

*Mataya Gayle had a team-high five assists with six rebounds.

*Penn shot 42.2 percent (27-for-64) from the field as a team and 80 percent (12-for-15) from the free-throw line.

*The Quakers' bench outscored DSU's, 30-13. Penn scored 24 points off 25 Delaware State turnovers.

*Circe Rubio Remolar had a team-high nine points with five rebounds to lead the Hornets. McKenzie Stewart chipped in seven points, 10 boards, and four steals. 
 
How It Happened
Delaware State won the opening tipoff and scored the first points of the game to take an early 2-0 lead. A pair of big baskets from Katie Collins had the Quakers trailing by just one, 8-7, at the under-5 media timeout. Tina Njike was inserted into the game late in the first quarter, immediately providing a spark with six quick points to put the Quakers back in front. Sarah Miller cashed in on a three-pointer with 22 seconds left as Penn had a 16-12 edge at the first break. DSU scored to open the second quarter while Penn missed its first three shots, causing Mike McLaughlin to spend an early timeout with 7:45 on the clock, becoming the full media timeout. At that point, the Quakers had a 16-14 edge.
 
From there, Penn went on a 22-3 run the rest of the way and held the Hornets without a field goal for the rest of the stanza, leading 38-17 heading into the locker room at halftime. Collins scored the Quakers' first basket of the third quarter and Delaware State answered back with a three-pointer, ending its field goal drought of nearly 12 minutes at the 8:12 mark.
 
The stanza progressed fairly evenly with Penn only out-scoring DSU, 11-10, at the 3:00 mark. A driving layup for Simone Sawyer had the Quakers in front by 25 points.
 
Penn's lead was upped to 30 points, at 60-30, to end the third quarter. Miller (13 points) Njike (12) led the Quakers in double figures. Delaware State had outscored Penn, 8-6, at the under-5 media timeout with 4:57 to go, but the Quakers were holding steady with a 66-38 advantage. During the opening run, Stina Almqvist had back-to-back buckets to give her double figures for the 18th straight game dating back to the end of last season.' The Hornets were able to cut into the lead by out-scoring Penn, 15-12, in the fourth quarter but the Quakers got some good bench minutes out of Gabriella Kelley and Helena Lasic to prevail, 72-45.
 
Up Next
It's a 10-day layoff for the Quakers during the holiday break before flying out west to Tempe, Ariz. for a Dec. 30 matchup against Arizona State at 3 p.m. EST.
 
For the latest on Penn women's basketball, follow @PennWBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.