PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team extended its win streak to three games with a 67-62 win over Washington State on Friday at The Palestra.
 
Penn improved to 8-3 on the season while the Cougars fell to 1-12.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn committed just 10 turnovers, a season low against a Division I opponent, and the Quakers' 17/10 assist/turnover ratio was a season best.
 
*Senior Simone Sawyer and sophomore Katie Collins shared scoring honors among Penn players, with 15 points each. Collins also had eight rebounds and three assists while Sawyer snared two boards.
 
*Junior Mataya Gayle finished with 14 points, tied for game-high honors with six assists, and led all players with three steals.
 
*Junior Tina Njike flirted with a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds (four on the offensive glass). She also had four assists without a turnover.
 
*Brooke Suttle had a solid day off the bench, with seven points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
 
*Washington State was led offensively by Eleonora Villa (21 points), Malia Ruud (12), and Lauren Glazier (10). Villa also had six assists, while Charlotte Abraham and Tanja Valancic topped the Cougars with six rebounds each.
 
How It Happened
Points came quickly in the first quarter, the teams shooting a combined 11-of-18 before the first media timeout as the Cougars were in front, 15-11. WSU went dry after the stoppage, however, going the rest of the quarter without a point and Penn took advantage with a 9-0 run that had the Quakers in front after one, 20-15.
 
Washington State was back to buckets to start the second quarter, using an 11-4 run in the opening 3:36 that had Penn head coach Mike McLaughlin calling a timeout. The stoppage worked, Penn scoring eight of the next 10 points (Sawyer with six of them) for a 32-28 lead. However, the Coogs used a 6-2 run in the final two minutes of the half to knot things at 34-34 as the teams went to their locker rooms.
 
Penn started quickly in the third, scoring six in a row to open the half and forcing a WSU timeout less than three minutes in. The lead grew to as much as nine late in the period, but the Cougars scored the last four points before the buzzer to make it a five-point game at 52-47.
 
The Red and Blue scored the first five points in the fourth quarter, expanding the margin to double digits for the first time in the game, and a Collins triple capped another five-point run that had Penn up by a dozen at 63-51. The Quakers cruised to the win from there, the margin finishing at five only due to WSU scoring six points in the final 45 seconds including a triple right at the buzzer.
 
Up Next
Penn is off until the FDU Christmas Classic, which will run December 29 and 30 in Hackensack, N.J. The Quakers will face UMES in the first round at 4 p.m., with the host Knights facing Binghamton in the other game.
 
For the latest on Penn women's basketball, follow @PennWBB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.