DOVER, Del. – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team battled through a tightly contested game Monday night before pulling away late for a 63-41 road win at Delaware State.
 
Tina Njike recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Quakers improved to 2-0 to start the season. The Hornets dropped their second straight game to fall to 1-2.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*In the third meeting all-time between Penn and Delaware State, the Quakers are now 3-0 against the Hornets since the series began back in 2003. This was Penn's first win in Dover, picking up a neutral-site victory and then a 72-45 home win last season.
 
*Penn is 2-0 to begin a season for the second straight year, having won three in a row last year.
 
*Tina Njike led all scorers with 15 points, adding a career-high 12 rebounds for her first career double-double.
 
*Saniah Caldwell finished with nine points in 28 minutes off the bench, while Katie Collins had eight points and 12 boards and Ese Ogbevire finished with eight points and two assists.
 
*Penn shot 44.2 percent (23-for-52) from the floor and was 81.3 percent (13-for-16) from the foul line.
 
*The Quakers' defense held the Hornets to just 25.4 percent (15-for-59) from the field and 33.3 percent (3-for-9) from beyond-the-arc.
 
How It Happened
The ball was tipped out of bounds and the Hornets began the game with the first possession. Ese Ogbevire provided Penn's first points and lead of the night when she drove to the rim and was sent to the foul line to make both shot attempts.
 
DSU answered with a three-pointer to take a 3-2 lead and its defense worked hard to keep Penn's offense at bay. However, the Quakers went on a 6-0 run over the next 2:17 to lead 10-6 at the media timeout with 4:20 left in the first.
 
Despite trailing, the Hornets' feisty defense continued to put pressure on Penn's offense, keeping the lead at 16-11 by the end of the first quarter.
 
Two of the Quakers' first three shots of the second quarter were triples—one from Njike, the other from Ashna Tambe—making it a 24-13 advantage three minutes in.
 
The first media timeout of the second period was called with 4:35 to play with Penn on a 12-2 burst over the last six minutes of action, leading 28-13.
 
Mike McLaughlin called timeout with 1:22 remaining in the second quarter, Penn on a 20-6 run over eight minutes with a 36-17 advantage which stood at halftime.
 
Heading into the media timeout with 4:42 left in the third quarter, DSU found themselves on a 10-5 run, doing so on 40 percent shooting, but still trailed 41-27.
 
Delaware State cut the deficit to as little as 12 points with 4:20 remaining in the frame, but an 11-5 Penn run bumped the score up to 18 points to close things out and send the game to the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter started slowly with minimal scoring over the first three minutes. The Hornets held the Quakers without a field goal during the span, while turning the ball over five times. Poor ball handling caused McLaughlin to spend their second timeout of the half, which became the media timeout. Saniah Caldwell ended the drought by sinking a basket, making it a 20-point lead with six minutes to go.
 
A 9-2 push—which was capped by an offensive rebound and layup from Brooke Suttle—extended Penn's lead to 61-38 as the fourth quarter clock dwindled to under three minutes. Both teams added one more basket the rest of the way as the Quakers settled for a 63-41 win to improve to 2-0 to begin their season.
 
Up Next
Penn opens Big 5 pod play on Wednesday evening less than a half mile down 33rd Street against Drexel. Tipoff at the Daskalakis Athletic Center is scheduled 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.