PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team won its sixth game of the season behind 21 points from Simone Sawyer, defeating Maine, 58-35.
 
The Quakers improved to 6-3 on the season and 3-1 at home.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Simone Sawyer led the Quakers with 21 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
*The Quakers scored 19 points off of 14 Maine turnovers.
 
*Penn dominated in the paint, scoring 30 of their 58 points inside.
 
*Mataya Gayle dished out four of the team's 14 assists.
 
*Katie Collins grabbed 13 rebounds and rejected four shots.
 
*Penn outrebounded Maine, 44-37.
 
How It Happened
 
The Quakers began the game with high offensive tempo and attacked the rim early.
 
Simone Sawyer got things started with a driving layup for the first points of the game.
 
Tina Njike imposed her will inside the paint as Penn took a 6-0 lead and Maine called its first timeout.
 
The Black Bears struggled offensively with only three field goals made in the first 10 minutes.
 
The Quakers never trailed in the first period, scoring 12 of their 18 points in the paint as they led 18-8.
 
Sawyer continued to flourish on the offensive end in the second quarter, scoring 11 of the team's 19.
 
Maine struggled to find any sort of consistency on offense, shooting just above 20 percent from the field and 0-11 from deep.
 
Penn thrived on points off turnovers in the first half, cashing in 15 points off of eight Maine turnovers.
 
The Quaker defense held the Black Bears to just 10 points in the quarter, as they led 37-18 at half time.
 
With no starters scoring more than five points for the Black Bears, the team turned to their bench.
 
Seven of the team's 11 third quarter points came from Maine's bench.
 
The Quakers struggled on offense in the second half, shooting just 33 percent in the third quarter.
 
Luckily, their dominant first half gave them a cushion as Katie Collins ended the period with a three-pointer to give Penn a 53-29.
 
The final period was ugly for both teams as a total of 11 combined points were scored.
 
Despite the second half woes and senior point guard Mataya Gayle fouling out with three minutes left, the Quakers held on to win, 58-35.
 
Up Next
The Quakers will face city rival La Salle in the Big 5 Classic at Villanova, on Sunday.

Tip-off is slated for 12 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.