The University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team outscored the University of Maine 10-5 in the final 2:01 of the game to pull out a 56-52 victory at the Memorial Gymnasium in Orono on Sunday.
Senior forward Stina Almqvist led the Quakers with 17 points but her assist on teammate Katie Collins’ layup with 56 seconds remaining in the game was the turning point, giving Penn a 52-49 lead they would never relinquish.
Penn hit 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch while UMaine could only counter with a 3-pointer from Caroline Bornemann, who finished with 19 points for the Black Bears.
Paula Gallego and Olivia Rockwood each scored 12 points for UMaine.
Penn improved to 2-0 on the season while the Black Bears are 1-1.
Almqvist’s consistent scoring had Penn leading 37-28 in the third quarter.
The Black Bears grabbed momentum in the final 2:11 of the third quarter with an 8-0 run to cut Penn’s lead to 37-36.
Rockwood buried a 3-pointer. After a Penn miss, Gallego scored on a layup. Asta Blauenfeldt stole the ball and Bornemann nailed a 3pointer.
After another Penn miss, the Black Bears took a 38-37 lead on a Bornemann layup off a feed from Gallego.
Penn outscored UMaine 15-5 in the second quarter to take a 27-20 lead at halftime. The Quakers shot 6-for-16 in the period while the Black Bears struggled offensively, shooting 2-for-13.
Almqvist paced the Quakers with 12 points in the half, including four layups and a pair of free throws in the second quarter.
UMaine started the game hot, grabbing a 7-0 lead on two Gallego layups and a 3-pointer from Rockwood off a Gallego assist.
But the Quakers closed out the first period with a 3-pointer by Sarah Miller to cut UMaine’s lead to 15-12, then scored the first eight points in the second period led by Almqvist to pull ahead.
