PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Redshirt junior Rae Corbo scored 15 points but it was not enough as the Norfolk State women's basketball team suffered a 79-49 loss on Sunday afternoon at The Palestra.

The loss marks the second time this season that the Spartans (5-8) have lost a game by 30 or more points. NSU fell to James Madison, 94-50, on Dec. 30.

The Spartans' only lead was at the 19:00 mark as senior Rachel Gordon knocked down a jumper give NSU a 2-0 lead. NSU kept the game within three points in the first half after a layup by junior Quineshia Leonard with 14:48 on the clock as the Spartans trailed Penn, 10-7.

Sydney Stipanovich capped a 15-4 run for Penn with a basket in the paint to make the score 25-11 with 9:08 to go before halftime. Stipanovich finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds, six blocks and two assists.

NSU's last field-goal of the half came from junior Ebony Brown with 2:04 on the clock. NSU continued to trail Penn, 35-15.

Keiera Ray knocked down a free throw with 11 seconds left to give the Quakers a 40-15 halftime lead over the Spartans. Ray led all scorers with 16 points. This is the second consecutive game that NSU has scored less than 20 points in a half. The Spartans scored only 17 points in the first half against James Madison.

The Quakers started the second half with five unanswered points, which included a 3-pointer from Alyssa Baron and a layup from Kara Bonenberger, to give Penn its largest lead of the game at 45-15 with 18:30 left to play. Bonenberger had 10 points on the afternoon on 3-of-3 shooting and was perfect from the free throw line (4-of-4).

Freshman Logan Powell scored the first points of the half for NSU with an assist from freshman Dominique Harper that sparked a 12-7 run. Penn still held a comfortable 52-27 lead over the Spartans with 13:25 remaining in the game.

From there Penn got a pair of free throws from Stipanovich and Melanie Lockett drained a jumper on the other end with 12:43 left to make the score 56-27.

Freshman Koryn Lawrence answered with a jumper of her own with 8:54 to go to cap an 11-7 run for NSU as the Quakers still held a 63-38 lead over the Spartans. Lawrence finished the game with four points.

Penn's Brooklyn Juday made a couple free throws with 2:30 to go to increase the Quakers' lead to 74-45. Penn shot 76.7 percent (23-of-30) from the charity strike on the afternoon.

Junior Jazamine Gray scored the last field-goal for NSU with 2:03 left. Freshman Ronesia Spicer closed out the scoring effort for the Spartans with a pair of free throws with 1:17 to go to give NSU its final points of the game.

Penn finished the game shooting 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field and was 25.0 percent (6-of-24) from 3-point range. The Quakers also outscored NSU off turnovers 18-12.

NSU shot 29.2 percent (19-of-65) on the afternoon and was 25.0 percent (2-of-8) from behind the arc. The Spartans also shot 50.0 (9-of-18) from the free throw line. Corbo was the only Spartan to score in double-figures. Gray had eight points, two assists and one steal. Gordon finished with six points and seven rebounds. Gordon's seven rebounds moved her into sixth all-time in career rebounding at NSU.

The Spartans return to action on Jan. 11 as they resume MEAC play against Maryland Eastern Shore. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md.