PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team played a back-and-forth battle to wrap up a road Ivy League weekend on Saturday, falling to Brown on a late bucket, 61-59.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Freshman Mataya Gayle led all Penn scorers with 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting, 3-for-5 from deep.
 
*Senior captain Jordan Obi added 16 points with eight rebounds.
 
*Junior Stina Almqvist registered another double-double, her fifth of the year, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
*Penn outrebounded the Bears, 41-32, including 14-9 on the offensive end.
 
*The game had 10 lead changes and four ties.
 
How It Happened
Penn held the lead through much of the first quarter, building an early 11-5 advantage by the midway mark of the frame. Gayle capped it off with five straight points including a three.
 
However, the Bears closed the gap and retained a one-point lead with seven straight of their own, putting the game into a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the game. Trailing by two in the final 1:25 of the quarter, Obi and Almqvist closed it out with a three and a pair of free throws, respectively, to give Penn a 21-18 advantage to take to the bench.
 
A low-scoring second quarter was opened by a jumper by Abby Sharpe in the paint, helping the Quakers clench onto the lead all the way to the half. Obi scored five points on her own late to push a six-point advantage, but Brown responded with a layup to give Penn a 28-24 score to carry to the locker room.
 
Penn controlled the advantage for a bulk of the third, but the Bears never went away. Staying within striking distance, they hit a five-point stretch to close out the quarter to take a 43-42 advantage into the fourth.
 
The Quakers hit a spark of their own in the fourth thanks to seven straight points by Gayle, reclaiming the lead and pushing ahead by four by the media timeout, 51-47.
 
Floor Toonders extended that lead off a nice feed from Saniah Caldwell, 53-47. The six-point advantage remained until roughly 2:30 left in the game, however, the Bears closed the gap.
 
The 1:06 remaining, the score was knotted up at 57-57. Brown's Kyla Jones, who scored her 1,000-career point in the game, put the Bears ahead by two with 16 seconds left before Gayle quickly pushed the ball down the floor for a right-side floater to draw it even with six seconds left.
 
The Bears put the ball back in Jones' hands on the final possession, backing her way into a left-side finish in the final seconds to push the 61-59 decision. Gayle got off a half court attempt at the buzzer that hit the rim twice.
 
Up Next
The Quakers continue on the road next weekend with an Ivy League clash at Cornell on Saturday, February 24. Tip is set for 2 p.m.