Mataya Gayle had a game-high 28 points on Saturday afternoon, in the leading the University of Pennsylvania to a hard fought 72-69 non-conference women’s basketball win over Maine at the Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It was a back and forth battle that included eight ties and 20 lead changes. After a see-saw in the first two minutes of action, Maine went on a 10-0 run in the first quarter to take what ended up being the biggest lead of the basketball game 16-7. Caroline Bornemann hit a pair of three-pointers during the spurt, while Adrianna Smith had two baskets in the paint. Penn then regained the lead with a run of their own of 15-4 over the next seven minutes stretching into the second period at 22-20. The Black Bears again jumped back ahead with an 8-0 run, and would hold a slim 30-28 advantage at the halftime break.
Maine held that same two point lead after three quarters. Penn took a seven point lead with 5:58 left to play at 61-54 as part of 12-3 run to start the fourth. The Black Bears once again battled and took their final lead of the afternoon with a 9-0 spurt on a layup by Smith, a three-pointer and layup by Bornemann, and another layup by Smith 63-61 with 3:09 remaining. Jordan Obi broke the run with a three-pointer to give the Quakers the lead for good. Penn hit 4-6 from the line over the last 17 seconds to escape with the victory.
Smith and Bornemann both led Maine in the loss with double doubles, each registering 18 points and 10 rebounds. Smith also had eight assists. Anne Simon added 17 points and four rebounds, while Sarah Talon chipped in 14 points as the Black Bears end the non-conference season at 7-7. Gayle added seven rebounds to her game-high point total in the win for Penn. Obi contributed 15 points, and Stina Almqvist also got into double figures with 14 points. The Quakers out of the Ivy League improve to 7-5. Maine is now on to America East play beginning on Thursday night with a trip to UMass-Lowell to take on the Riverhawks at 6 p.m.
Recap by Chris Lessner
Maine guard Anne Simon looks to make an inbounds pass during a game earlier this year against James Madison in Orono. The Black Bears dropped a tight one to Penn in their final non-conference game on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Chris Lessner
