PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team will host the Washington State Cougars on Friday, Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. at the Palestra.
 
The Quakers enter the game with a 7-3 record following their 65-52 win over La Salle in the Big 5 Classic on Sunday. The Cougars have lost four of their last five, and 10 out of their first 11, with their one and only win of the year coming against Miami of Ohio on Nov. 28.
 
GAME 11 - PENN (7-3, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. WASHINGTON STATE (1-10, 0-0 WCC)
Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 | 11 a.m.
Philadelphia, Pa. | The Palestra
Watch on ESPN+! ($) | Live Stats | Digital Game Program

Penn Game Notes (PDF) | WSU Game Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES WITH WASHINGTON STATE
This will be the first time that the Quakers and Cougars have faced each other in a women's basketball game. It will be the final home game of the 2025 calendar year for the Quakers. The last time Washington State traveled to the city of brotherly love was in 2023 where their season came to an end against Florida Gulf Coast in the NCAA Tournament at the Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pa. Taking it a step further, this is just the second time Penn has faced a team from the great state of Washington.The first was a neutral-site affair in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when the Red and Blue fell to a Washington team led by current WNBA star Kelsey Plum, 65-53. The game was played in College Park, Md.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
The Cougars are led by junior guard Eleonora Villa who averages just under 17 points per game. She also leads the team with 27 assists and 12 steals this season. The team has struggled mightily this season giving up 75 points per game and have a -17 scoring margin. Rebounding has also been an issue for the Cougars thus far, posting a -11 margin on the boards against opponents.The Cougars enter the matchup against the Quakers on a four-game skid and losing ten of their first 11 games.

NOTES FROM THE BIG 5 CLASSIC
*Sophomore Katie Collins led the offense, scoring 20 points which was a season high and one shy of her career best. She finished one rebound shy of a double-double, with nine—five of them on the offensive glass—and added three assists and two blocked shots.

*Junior Tina Njike posted her second double-double of the season, with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. She also had two steals and a blocked shot, and knocked down both of her three-point shots.

*Seniors Saniah Caldwell and Simone Sawyer scored eight points each, with Caldwell dishing out six assists and Sawyer five (against just one turnover). Sawyer also had two steals.

*Sophomore Ashna Tambe proved a revelation, playing nearly 25 minutes off the bench and finishing the contest with career highs in points (11), rebounds (5) and assists (3). Eight of her points came in the decisive run to start the fourth quarter.

*La Salle got 15 points from Aryss Macktoon and 12 from Ashleigh Connor. Macktoon also led the Explorers in rebounds (7) and steals (5) and added three assists and two blocked shots, while Connor also had five rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

THE MAINE RECAP
* Penn's last appearance here at The Palestra was arguably its best this season as the Quakers routed Maine, 58-35.

* The 23-point victory over the Black Bears was Penn's largest against a Division I opponent so far this season.

* Maine's 35-point night marked the fewest points scored by a D1 opponent against the Quakers since Hartford scored just 30 on January 10, 2023.

* Njike nearly had her second double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds (four of them on the offensive glass).

* Collins also flirted with a double-double, grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds to go with eight points and four blocked shots.

AYE AYE, CAPTAINS!
Penn has five players leading the team as captains in 2025-26, tying a program record for a single season. The leadership group is made up of seniors Saniah Caldwell, Simone Sawyer, and Georgia Heine, as well as junior Gayle and sophomore Collins. There have been just two other seasons in program history when the Quakers had five captains: 2004-05 and 2020-21 (which was canceled due to COVID-19).

PENN WBB BY THE NUMBERS
7.7 • Collins' rebounds-per-game average so far this season; that is tied for third among Ivy League players with Princeton's Fadima Tall, behind Brown's Alyssa Moreland (10.8) and Dartmouth's Cate MacDonald (7.9).

13.4 • Sawyer's points-per-game average over Penn's last seven contests; she has reached double figures in five of them—highlighted by 21-point outings at Hofstra and against Maine—and scored nine and eight in the outlier games.

15 • Blocked shots by Collins so far this season, tied for most among Ivy players along with MacDonald and Princeton's Taylor Charles; Njike is sixth, with 11 blocks.

34.8 • Opponent field-goal percentage against the Quakers so far this season; Penn leads the Ivy League and is 26th nationally in the category.

53.5 • Penn's points-per-game scoring defense this season, good for second among Ivy League teams (behind Dartmouth's 52.0) and 17th nationally.

84.2 • Penn's free-throw percentage for the season, tops in the nation.

94.1 • Sawyer's free-throw percentage this season (32-34), which was tops among Ivy League players—Yale's Ciniya Moore is second at 87.9 percent (29-33)—and seventh nationally at the start of the week.

For the latest on Penn women's basketball, follow @PennWBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.