HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Simone Sawyer dominated both sides of the ball on Saturday afternoon, leading the Penn women’s team to a methodical 67-55 defeat of Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
The senior guard from Lincolnshire, Ill. led the offense with a 21-point, nine rebound performance and spearheaded a tenacious Quakers defense that shut down the Pride’s top three scorers in the second half.
“This was the best basketball game we’ve seen a guard at Penn play in a long time. Simone Sawyer was that good,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin told Ivy Hoops Online immediately after the game. “She defended 94 feet almost the entire time, she guarded their point of attack. A great effort.”
The victory was a solid return to form, following a tough loss at Drexel earlier in the week, and puts Penn at 3-1 on the young season. Hofstra, meanwhile, moves to 1-2.
Things didn’t start off ideally for the Red & Blue with the absence of 2024 Ivy Rookie of the Year Mataya Gayle, who didn’t travel with the team due to a minor injury, and technicals called on both teams that left Penn down two points before the opening tipoff.
When asked about the status of the junior guard, McLaughlin said he didn’t know when she’ll be back but “doesn’t anticipate we’ll miss her for really long.”
While the Quakers were without the services of its third leading scorer and top assist maker, Hofstra was missing its top scorer and rebounder, graduate forward Sandra Magolico (18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game).
Up 24-23, Penn went on a 13-3 run, including an 8-0 stretch, to create an 11-point advantage with just over a minute to go in the half. Unfortunately for the visitors, a 5-0 Hofstra run made it 37-31 heading into the break.
The Quakers put a quick end to the Pride’s momentum, using four Sawyer free throws and a triple from sophomore forward Katie Collins, to reclaim an 11-point lead halfway through the third quarter. By the end of the frame, the Red and Blue were still up by double digits, 56-45.
Another three from Collins early in the final quarter gave Penn a game-high 15-point lead, 61-46. The hosts tried chipping away at the deficit but couldn’t get any closer than ten.
Some takeaways from a cold day on Long Island:
Penn’s backcourt leads the way
Sawyer, whose point total was her largest since a November 2022 game vs LaSalle and her rebounds were the most since a November 2024 contest against California Baptist, took control of the game from the opening tip, constantly driving the lane and crashing the boards. She got to the line four times, making all eight of her free throw attempts, and pushing two of Hofstra’s three leading scorers, senior forward Ayen Angoi and senior point guard Alarice Gooden, closer to their eventual fifth fouls.
Meanwhile, senior guard Saniah Caldwell, who replaced Gayle in the starting lineup, finished with a stat-stuffing afternoon of 36 minutes, eight points, five assists and four rebounds.
“This is a big thing for both of these seniors,” McLaughlin said afterwards. “Especially without Mataya, it shows we do have a lot of depth.”
Speaking of Penn’s depth…
The Quakers needed a big effort to replace one of its stars, and the rest of the roster responded.
Penn, which has 11 players averaging more 10 or more minutes a game, ended the afternoon with eight different players logging at least 12 minutes. The Quakers got meaningful offensive and defensive production from starters Collins (13 points, four rebounds) and junior guard Ese Ogbevire (six points with 4-for-4 from the foul line), as well as reserve rookie guard Ruke Ogbevire (eight points on 3-for-4 shooting) and backup sophomore forward Gabriella Kelley (five points, three rebounds), who led a Quakers bench that outscored its counterpart 17-10.
Threes, free throws and second-chance points were key
While Penn struggled from inside the arc for the second straight game, netting only 38% (11-for-29), the team was able to connect on a season-high 42% (10-for-24) from three and another season-best 88% (15-for-17) from the free throw line. On the defensive side, the Quakers did give up 38% from downtown (9-for-24) but limited the Pride to 66% (4-for-6) from the charity stripe.
Just as important as keeping Hofstra off the free throw line was Penn’s rebounding prowess, which saw the visitors hold a plus-10% advantage on the glass and outscore the hosts 13-4 in second chance points.
“The effort plays, the little things. Balls were kept alive off missed shots. These are things that we have the capability of doing.” said McLaughlin. “Tina (Njike) is a force in the lane. Katie (Collins) can do a little bit of everything. I think you can see Gabriella Kelley, who didn’t play a whole lot last year, can spread the floor and shoot it.”
60, do I hear 60…
The keys to winning and losing in basketball are often quite complex. Other times, things can be rather simple. For those keeping their eyes on the Red and Blue, it’s important to consider the number 60. With Saturday’s victory, Penn is now 164-14 when scoring at least 60 points in regulation and 191-36 when holding opponents below that round number.
Final thoughts from the coach
“I think this was about as good as we could do coming off that game (Drexel),” McLaughlin said. “This one really showed these kids are resilient. They came up here with a purpose. As a coach, today, I’m super proud of them.”