Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Lafayette struggled to find its shooting touch for a majority of Tuesday's road game at Penn, and the Quakers took advantage in a 54-37 victory at the historic Palestra.

The Leopards (0-2) were held under 10 points in three of the four quarters, and Penn (2-1) ended the contest with a 38-26 advantage on the glass. Anna Ptasinski had a team-high 12 points in the defeat, while freshman Angela Ribarich notched five blocks in 16 minutes off the bench.

"In no way shape or form am I discouraged," head coach Theresa Grentz said. "We're still learning to play together, and that's a process. We've had good moments, but we have to be able to sustain that for 40 minutes. We're going to continue to get better as the season goes on."

Sydney Stipanovich had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Quakers, and Michelle Nwokedi (12 points, 10 rebounds) registered a double-double.

Ptasinski needed only 10 seconds to drain a 3-pointer and put the Leopards in front, and a jumper inside from Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby made it 5-2 with 8:27 left in the opening quarter.

Lafayette, though, hit only one more shot in the remainder of the frame, as Penn went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-7 advantage. The Quakers held a commanding 15-6 edge on the boards, led by six from Nwokedi.

Ribarich began the second quarter with a short jumper inside for her first collegiate points, reducing the deficit to four points. Penn, however, went on an 8-0 run over the next 4:25 to expand its lead into double-digits, and the Quakers took a 29-14 lead into the second half.

The third quarter was Lafayette's best by far on the offensive end. The Maroon and White hit 7 of 10 shots from the floor, led by seven from Ptasinski, but were only able to take one point off their halftime deficit.

Back-to-back jumpers from Ptasinski and Jamie O'Hare had the margin down to 10 points at 45-35 with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Leopard offense then went cold again, generating only two additional points the rest of the way.

For the game, Lafayette was 15 of 47 from the floor (31.9 percent) and 2 of 13 from 3-point range (15.4 percent).

Ribarich registered three of her five rejections in the final quarter, and she managed her five-block output without committing a single foul.

"I'm happy for Angela," Grentz remarked. "She was able to use her assets to her advantage and realize that she belongs at this level. I expect her to continue to improve."

Lafayette looks to get into the win column Friday night, when Duquesne heads to Kirby Sports Center for the Leopards' 2015-16 home opener. That contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.