EMMITSBURG, Md. – Hassanah Oliver (Hillside, N.J./Hillside) scored a career-high 19 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past the University of Pennsylvania 65-53 in non-conference women's basketball action on Saturday.

Oliver, who started the contest 1-for-8 in the first 10 minutes, ended the game 7-for-11 in the final 30 minutes to help the Mount (3-1) overcome a nine-point deficit and come from behind for the win to open the season with its best start since 1996-97.

Brianna Gauthier (Severna Park, Md./St. Mary's) added 18 points, six rebounds and three assists while Leah Westbrooks (Dublin, Ireland/Holy Faith Secondary) tallied eight points and eight rebounds and Lauren Howell (Quinton, N.J./Sacred Heart) added nine points off the bench in the winning effort.

Sarah Bucar paced Quakers (0-5) with 14 points. Carrie Biemer added 12 points and Jerin Smith chipped in 10 points in the loss.

Mount St. Mary's came out of the locker room at halftime, took control of the game and never looked back to earn the victory in the first meeting against Penn since defeating the Quakers 49-42 at Memorial Gym on Jan. 6, 1981.

After Caitlin Slover tied the game at 37 with 15:32 remaining, the Mountaineers went on a 13-0 run in a span of four minutes and 56 seconds to grab a 50-37 advantage.

Gauthier gave the Mount the lead for good on a jumper at 14:48 before Oliver scored in the paint 42 seconds later. After Oliver nailed a jumper, Gauthier converted two charity tosses at 12:56 for a 45-37 margin. Courtney Nyce (Scwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) converted the first of two free throws at 12:23 for her first collegiate point. Gauthier then drilled a jumper and Westbrooks capped the run with a layup at 10:36 for a 13-point lead.

Penn halted the run when Biemer scored in the paint at 8:27 before Tyler Cumbo recorded a bucket to trim the margin to 50-41 with 7:26 left. Mary Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic) then hit the frontend of two free throws before Biemer scored in the paint to make it an eight-point game with 6:24 on the clock. Howell then nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to reclaim a double-digit advantage and the Quakers could get no closer the rest of the way.

Penn held the lead for most of the first half. The Quakers took the advantage on a 3-ball with 14:19 remaining and held the margin going into the locker room. The Mount cut the deficit to 18-16 on a Gauthier 3-pointer before Penn rolled off nine of the next 11 points to take its largest lead at 27-18 with 4:04 left in the stanza. Mount St. Mary's then ended the half on an 8-3 run to go into halftime trailing 30-26.

Westbrooks cut the deficit to one possession on a jumper to start the second half, but Bucar nailed a 3-pointer for a 33-28 advantage at 19:18. Gauthier and Westbrooks recorded consecutive baskets before Sandra Andresson (Tallinn, Estonia/Audentes School) drained a 3-pointer at 16:23 to hand the Mount its first lead since the opening basket of the contest, 35-33. Biemer and Slover each scored a bucket sandwiched in between a Gauthier layup to tie the score at 37 with 15:32 remaining. Mount St. Mary's then responded to score 13 unanswered points and never looked back and went on for its third win of the year.

Nyce notched a career-high six rebounds. Gauthier became the 35 player in program history to reach 800 points and now stands at 808 for her career.

Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Monday against in-state rival Loyola. Game time is 7 p.m.