A fourth quarter rally came up short for the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team as Big 5 rival Penn held off the Hawks for a 57-50 victory at Hagan Arena on Monday.

Fighting back from an 11-point deficit to start the final period, Saint Joseph's closed to within a possession midway through the quarter. Behind a 9-0 run, the Hawks (5-4, 0-3 Big 5) cut the Quaker's edge to 45-43 on a putback layup by Adashia Franklyn with 6:09 to play.

Penn (3-4, 1-1 Big 5) responded to SJU's run with a 7-0 streak of its own as a layup by Michelle Nwokedi extended her team's lead to 52-43, with 2:03 left in the game.

The Hawks would get no closer than six from there as they dropped their first home game of the season.

In the first half, Saint Joseph's jumped out to an early 9-6 lead as a three-pointer by senior Avery Marz gave the Hawks a three-point cushion.

A 9-0 run by the Quakers that extended into the second quarter pushed the visitors ahead 15-9, and they'd keep Saint Joseph's at a distance until the final period as Penn pushed its lead to as many as 12 points.

For the game, Saint Joseph's shot 36.2 percent from the floor (21-of-58), 23.1 percent from three-point range (3-of-13) and 5-of-6 from the foul line.

Individualy, junior guard/forward Sarah Veilleux led all scorers with 16 points, while Franklyn added a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Eleah Parker led Penn with a team-high 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, while Nwokedi finished with 14 points. Overall, the Quakers shot 43.1 percent from the field (22-of-51), hit 4-of-12 from behind the arc and 9-of-14 from the foul line (64.3 percent).

Saint Joseph's is back in action on Sunday when it hosts Drexel at 1:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.

Game Notes: The Hawks move to 40-3 all-time against Penn...SJU finished with a 39-29 edge in rebounding...Junior Michala Clay finished with six points...Graduate student Amanda Fioravanti had four points and five rebounds...Classmate Jaryn Garner added four points and a season-best seven rebounds...Marz scored three points and had two rebounds in her first career start...Junior Alyssa Monaghan scored three points and had two rebounds...Rookie Lula Roig had three assists, two steals and two points...Senior Candace Belvedere added a blocked shot...Junior Kristalyn Baisden finished with two assists and a rebound.

Follow the Saint Joseph's women's basketball team on Instagram and Twitter and like the Hawks on Facebook.

Receive all of the latest news and info on SJU women's basketball with Hawk E-News – SIGN UP