The Quakers fired on all cylinders for a win.
Penn women’s basketball (6-3) was victorious against Maine (3-6). In the 58-35 win, Penn dominated both ends of the floor ahead of its Big 5 Classic matchup this weekend. Turnovers plagued the Black Bears, and the Quakers took full advantage, notching 19 points off opponent turnovers.
The game commenced with the Quakers winning the tip-off, but both teams went scoreless in possessions to begin play.
Senior guard Simone Sawyer broke silence with an easy layup. After another scoreless effort from the Black Bear offense, Sawyer’s points were quickly followed by junior center Tina Njike’s shifty post work for another quick field goal for the Quakers. Scoring returned to Sawyer as she sank another easy field goal to put the score to 6-0.
Maine forward Adrianna Smith put the Black Bears on the board soon after, but the Quakers quickly took over the scorebooks, putting together a 9-0 scoring run accumulated solely by Njike and junior guard Mataya Gayle.
“I think that it opens up the floor for the team,” Njike said. “I feel like the more versatile you are, the more open the floor gets, and then the more easy baskets you get.”
Despite the high-pressure defense from the Black Bears, the Quakers continued to find and execute baskets, extending their lead to 18-8 by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter of play was all Sawyer. Through a series of back-to-back three pointers, baseline drives for hard-fought layups, and elbow jumpers, Sawyer accumulated 11 points in the second quarter alone.
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Sawyer was not only unstoppable on offense — she also came up with a block and two steals in the second frame.
“We just try to keep our energy. I mean, my teammates did a good job trying to find me, [and] keeping our energy throughout,” Sawyer said.
Sawyer’s performance not only sparked the team’s defensive energy — only allowing for the Black Bears to score 10 points total in the period — but it ignited other offensive weapons like sophomore forward Katie Collins as well.
“[Sawyer] just cares so much. She wants to be good. She wants to finish her career the right way,” coach Mike McLaughlin said. “Defensively, she’s always been very good, but now she’s finding the basket. Offensively, she’s got a high-level confidence … she’s come a long way in her game, and I want to celebrate every minute with it.”
After persistent offensive struggles including two shot clock violations, Maine ended the first half with two made free throws from guard Emmie Streams to leave the score at 37-18.
The Quakers emerged from the locker room energized with a commanding the scoring once again with a 10-2 run.
In a Black Bear offense commanded by the post, Smith and center Lizzy Gruber each contributed four points to the team’s 11-point period effort. The Quakers entered the final quarter of play with a commanding 53-29 lead that the Black Bears could not make up.
Njike ended the night with 12 points and Sawyer ended with a season-high 21 points.
The Quakers hope their offensive and defensive shows continue this Sunday as they travel to Villanova to face LaSalle as part of the Big 5 Classic.
