VILLANOVA, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania women's basketball team defeated La Salle, 65-52, to open the Toyota Women's Big 5 Classic on Sunday at Villanova's Finneran Pavilion.
 
The Quakers used a strong run at the end of the first half to build a lead it wouldn't relinquish. La Salle came back with a 15-0 run in the third to make things dicey entering the final quarter, but the Red and Blue restored order to start the fourth to secure the win.
 
Penn improved to 7-3 with the victory, while La Salle fell to 6-3.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*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.
 
How It Happened
Njike got Penn out quickly, scoring the game's first five points that La Salle answered. She then combined with Collins for the next six in the game, five of which the Explorers made up. The first quarter ended with the Quakers in front, 11-10.
 
Macktoon opened the second quarter with a triple to give La Salle its first lead of day at 13-11, and a Kiara Williams and-1 put the Explorers up 16-13. Penn did not hit a field goal for more than four minutes to start the period, but when Collins hit a layup it unlocked the door and Penn ran through it. Overall, the Quakers scored 14 unanswered points over 4:22 of game time to open up a double-digit margin at 27-16. Anna Przyszlak finally snapped the streak for La Salle, but a pair of Caldwell free throws made the score 29-18 Penn at the break.
 
Njike started the second half the way she started the game, with a triple, and then Penn answered La Salle's first bucket of the period with nine in a row (six from Collins). That pushed the Quakers' lead to 21, at 41-20, and it appeared they were on the way to an easy victory.
 
Not so fast. La Salle went to an aggressive 1-3-1 zone and Penn couldn't solve it. The Quakers missed four shots and turned the ball over five times in a four-minute span and the Explorers took full advantage, ripping off a 15-0 run that got them back within six and forced Penn head coach Mike McLaughlin to burn two timeouts. Collins finally ended Penn's skid with a putback lefty layup that just trickled over the rim and in with 1:40 to play. But La Salle was feeling it offensively and matched everything Penn got in the final two minutes. As this game entered the fourth, the margin was a precarious five (45-40).
 
Penn restored order to start the final period. Tambe—who scored eight points in the period—got it started with a transition bucket, Collins hit a mid-range jumper along the right baseline, then Tambe converted from the same corner but behind the three-point line. Tambe then completed what would be a 10-0 run with three the old-fashioned way, putting back a Sawyer miss and getting fouled. Penn was back up by 15, La Salle was calling timeout, and the Quakers were on their way as the margin never got to single digits again.
 
Up Next
Penn is off until December 19, when the Quakers host Washington State at The Palestra. Tipoff with the Cougars is slated for 11 a.m.
 
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