PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team never led by more than seven points, but a strong defensive effort and balanced offensive performances from Tina Njike and Simone Sawyer helped Penn pick up a 55-50 victory over visiting Norfolk State Tuesday evening at The Palestra.
 
The Quakers have started their 2025-26 season with a 4-1 overall record while the Spartans dropped their third straight game and fell to 2-4.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn's 4-1 start to the season is its best mark through five games since the 2021-22 campaign, also beginning the year 4-1.

*The Quakers extend their series lead to 2-1 over the Spartans all-time, winning back-to-back contests dating back to the 2013-14 season.

*This is Tina Njike's second time leading her teammates in points, scoring 12 with six rebounds, and two blocks. She was also a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

*Simone Sawyer also registered double-digit points for the second straight outing, scoring 11 points with eight boards in 34 minutes.

*Sawyer and Saniah Caldwell led the way with two three-pointers each.

*Caldwell enjoyed a balanced evening with nine points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals as the starting point guard.

*Katie Collins contributed nine points, two rebounds, two assists, and a team-high three blocks over 39 minutes of action.

*Despite a slow start, Mataya Gayle played a crucial 22 minutes off the bench, leading the second unit with eight points and three assists.

*Abby Sharpe, Gabriella Kelley, and Brooke Suttle combined for six points off the bench with two each.

*Penn shot just 34 percent (17-of-50) from the field, 25 percent (6-of-24) from beyond-the-arc, and was near-perfect from the charity stripe shooting 93.8 percent (15-for-16).

*The Quakers' defense did an excellent job holding Norfolk State to under 30 percent overall from the field, the Spartans shooting 18-of-66 (27.3 percent) and were just 14.8 percent (4-for-27) from downtown. NSU converted just 10 of its 15 free throw attempts.

*Despite the defeat, Norfolk State led Penn in points in the paint (24-18), second-chance points (17-4), and points off turnovers (14-7).

*Jasha Clinton had a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double with three assists and three steals to pace the Spartans. Philadelphia native Cire Worley led all scorers with 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
How It Happened
Both teams began the game with inconsistent offense as the game was scoreless for the first two minutes. However, the Quakers found their success at the free throw line shooting a perfect 6-for-6 in the opening frame. Tina Njike led the way for the Red and Blue in the first quarter, scoring seven points on a three-pointer and four foul shots.
 
Norfolk State's Cire Worley added two three-pointers of her own in the opening quarter, leading the struggling offense with six points.
 
Norfolk State crashed the glass early on, securing five offensive rebounds. Both teams combined for just 10 field goals in the first 10 minutes as the Quakers led 16-15 heading into the second quarter.
 
The second quarter was more of the same as both teams continued to struggle offensively. The Spartans continued to rebound the ball at a high rate, securing 17 rebounds in the second quarter. Regardless of its early offensive woes, Penn distributed the ball efficiently recording seven assists in the first half, led by Caldwell's three helpers.
 
Despite the Spartans out-rebounding the Quakers, 31-20, and pouring in 11 second chance points, Penn found itself with a 26-24 lead heading into the second half after a late three-pointer from Katie Collins.
 
Both teams shot under 30 percent from the field at the half as they entered the second half searching desperately for some offensive flow.
 
Njike attempted to jumpstart the Penn offense in the second half, scoring an and-one for the Quakers first points.  Simone Sawyer scored a layup to give Penn its largest lead of the game at seven. Then, the Spartans responded with a pair of turnovers by the Quakers and took the lead.
 
A flagrant foul called against Collins contributed to two Da'brya Clark free throws as the Spartans offense began to find momentum, scoring 10 unanswered points in a minute span that turned into a 35-33 lead.
The Quaker offense finally found some consistency from beyond-the-arc in the third quarter as Caldwell, Njike, Collins and Sawyer put down a three-pointer.
 
Norfolk State also put together a strong third stanza, scoring 10 of their 17 points from inside the paint, while its defense made things difficult for the Penn offense by forcing seven turnovers on five steals. That made the contest 41-all heading into the final quarter of play.
 
Sawyer opened up the fourth with her second three-pointer of the night as Penn retook the lead, 44-42.
 
Layups from Mataya Gayle and Caldwell, and two more from Gayle over a three-minute span gave the Quakers a seven-point cushion with under two minutes left in the quarter, forcing Norfolk State to call a timeout.
 
With just 19 seconds left on the clock, Gabriella Kelley committed what would have been a costly foul, contributing to a pair of Spartan free throws that made it a one-possession game, but two Gayle free throws with nine seconds on the clock sealed the five-point win for the Quakers.
 
Up Next
Penn continues Big 5 pod play next Monday night at The Palestra by hosting Saint Joseph's. Tip-off 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.