PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team clashed with #24/25 Princeton on Saturday afternoon at The Palestra, battling into the final quarter before falling, 67-54.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Senior captain Jordan Obi led the Quakers with 17 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and two assists. She shot 50 percent from the floor and 6-for-7 at the line.
 
*Off the bench, freshman Ese Ogbevire dropped in a career-high 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting including 3-for-4 from deep.
 
*Freshman Mataya Gayle chipped in nine points with three assists and three rebounds.
 
*Junior Lizzy Groetsch was strong on the defensive end, pulling in eight boards.
 
How It Happened
Obi got the Quakers rolling early, opening the game up with a nice turnaround jumper in the paint. It triggered some back-and-forth action between the squads, swaying the lead three times before the Tigers jumped out to a 7-3 advantage.
 
Sophomore Simone Sawyer slowed down the stretch for Princeton, pulling an offensive board in under the hoop and drawing the and-one finish to get with one.
 
Down the stretch of the first, the Tigers put some separation on the scoreboard, pushing to a 21-9 score with 1:22 left before Gayle and Obi each connected on threes to close the gap to eight at the break, 23-15.
 
The Tigers pushed back ahead by as much as 14 points almost eight minutes through the second frame, but some solid minutes off the bench from Ogbevire helped inch the Quakers closer before the end of the half. She drilled a three from the left wing then capped off the half with a driving finish through traffic.
 
Princeton carried a 37-26 lead into the locker room. The Tigers shot 55.2 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while the Quakers shot 47.1 percent.
 
Penn impressed in the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers, 18-11, to close the gap to four. Ogbevire continued to perform with back-to-back threes, while senior Floor Toonders, junior Stina Almqvist and Gayle all hit layups to pull with four at 1:31 left in the quarter, 46-42.
 
Ogbevire kept the hot hand with a second-chance driving layup to open the final frame, getting the Quakers as close as they'd get to one of the top-25 teams in the country, 48-46.
 
Princeton responded with a 12-2 run to push back ahead by 12, enough to keep its distance through the closing minutes.
 
Up Next
The Quakers hit the road for their next three conference battles, including an Ivy weekend in the New England region next week. They'll travel to Yale on Friday night before continuing to Brown on Saturday.