Riverside—Malou De Kergret and Skyler Lewis had career-highs of 16 and 14 points in the Highlanders', 71-55, loss to Penn in UCR's non-conference finale at the SRC Arena Monday.
The Quakers scored the first five points of the game in an opening quarter that saw them make five of their eight baskets from three-point range, and shoot 50% (8-16).
The Highlanders also shot well going 7-10 from the field, 2-3 from long distance. However, their chances were limited as they committed five turnovers in the opening period, and trailed 23-16.
At the half, the Highlanders were still behind, 36-28, after shooting 4-15 in the second quarter.
Lewis led the Highlanders with eight points on 4-5 shooting. Malou De Kergret and Réjane Vérin had seven and six points, respectively. Both teams grabbed a total of 16 rebounds.
Heading into the fourth, UCR faced a nine-point deficit, 55-46. Penn opened the scoring in the final frame with one of their 12 threes on the night. Just nine seconds later, De Kergret answered with a triple of her own to again make it a nine-point contest.
C Riverside would get no closer as the Quakers pushed the lead to as much as 18 before finally prevailing 71-55.
De Kergret's 16 led all scorers, and eclipsed her previous career-high of 11 points. Lewis also topped her career-high of 13 points with 14 while pulling down six rebounds.
Vérin dished out a game-high seven assists, collected seven rebounds while pouring in 12 points in the defeat. Phoebe Sterna knocked down five of the six threes she attempted in scoring 15 points to lead four Penn players in double figures.
The Quakers shot 12-26 from long distance compared to the Highlanders, who were 2-3 in the first, but finished 1-9 in the final three quarters.
UCR was without the services of double-digit scorer Lauren Holt and key contributor Michelle Curry Monday evening.
The 16-point home loss was largest margin of defeat in the SRC Arena since December 28 2015, when UCLA knocked off UCR 70-56.
The Highlanders begin defense of their 2016 Big West regular season championship Saturday, when they open conference play at home versus UC Irvine at 5 pm PT.
