As the opening half of the conference schedule came to a close on Saturday, Columbia used a dominant performance over last-place Dartmouth to claim sole possession of first place. Penn, which entered the weekend tied with the Lions, fell from the top slot after giving up a season-high 84 points during a lopsided 24-point defeat at Harvard. Princeton, which started out tied with Harvard and Yale, used a masterful defensive performance to beat Yale by 49 points and keep pace with the Crimson. In Saturday’s Ivy opening game, Cornell used a 10-1 run early in the fourth quarter to pull away from Brown and get the league’s only road win.
Saturday results
Cornell over Brown, 66-61
Princeton over Yale, 79-30
Columbia over Dartmouth, 79-50
Harvard over Penn, 84-60
Standings
Columbia 6-1 (17-3 overall)
Princeton 5-2 (14-5)
Penn 5-2 (13-7)
Harvard 5-2 (12-7)
Yale 4-3 (10-10)
Cornell 2-5 (9-11)
Brown 1-6 (8-11)
Dartmouth 0-7 (2-19)
As the second half of the Ivy schedule begins this weekend, all eyes will focus on Levien Gymnasium as Columbia welcomes the Ps to NYC. The league leaders will look for payback on Friday night against the Quakers, who pulled away late in the fourth quarter at home against the Lions on January 7. On Saturday, Columbia, which beat Princeton by three in an overtime thriller on January 6, will try to make it two in a row against four-time defending champs. The Tigers haven’t been swept by an Ivy opponent since losing to Penn three times in 2017, but the dreaded Friday night bus trip from Ithaca to Manhattan and a start time 20 hours after finishing the game at Cornell will certainly pose added challenges.
Fri., Feb. 3
Princeton at Cornell, 6:00 p.m.
Harvard at Yale, 6:00 p.m.
Penn at Columbia, 6:00 p.m.
Dartmouth at Brown, 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 4
Penn at Cornell, 4:00 p.m.
Princeton at Columbia, 4:00 p.m.
Dartmouth at Yale, 4:00 p.m.
Harvard at Brown, 5:00 p.m.
Below are 10 of the top performances from the weekend:
Kaitlyn Davis (Columbia)
The 6-foot senior forward, dubbed The Unicorn by coach Megan Griffith, put up the program’s first triple-double with 19 points on 8-for-10 field-goal shooting, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. She also added four steals and a block on the afternoon. Last year’s unanimous first team All-Ivy member is having another outstanding season, sitting second in conference rebounding (10 per contest), second in total assists (30), third in shooting average (58.3%), and eighth in scoring average (13.7).
Anna Hovis (Cornell)
Against Brown, Hovis recorded career-bests of 10 points and 10 rebounds, as well as her first double-double. The effort, which earned the 6-foot-1 senior forward from Virginia her first spot on the Ivy League’s weekly Honor Roll, more than doubled her season averages of four points and 4.3 boards per outing.
Abbey Hsu (Columbia)
While Davis had the biggest numbers at Levien Gym, Hsu added 19 points in the win over Dartmouth, hitting five of eight shots from beyond the arc. The 5-foot-11 guard from South Florida, who set an Ivy League record with 108 three-pointers last year, now has 73 triples on the season, which is tops in Ancient Eight and second in the nation. The two-time second team All-Ivy (remind us again how she didn’t make last year’s first team) leads the nation in three-pointers per game (3.65) and is top-15 in attempts (164) and shooting percentage (44.5%).
Elena Rodriguez (Harvard)
In a crucial game against then-first place Penn, Rodriguez had a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds, as well as three assists, two steals and a block. Her career-high offensive outburst came on an efficient 11-for-18 performance, which included making three of four attempts from three-point range. Starting her third straight game in Ivy competition, the 6-foot-2 forward from Spain is averaging 21 points and 11.7 rebounds during the Crimson’s three game winning streak. At the halfway point of league play, she is second in field goal accuracy (59.4%), third in rebounding (nine per game), and seventh in scoring (14.6). For a team that started five guards last season, having a consistent offensive and defensive presence in the middle makes Harvard an even stronger team that took Princeton to the wire in last year’s Ivy Madness semifinal.
Emily Pape (Cornell)
Making her first start in Ivy competition and just her second start of the year, Pape led all players with 27 points and 11 rebounds in the Big Red’s win at Brown. The 27 points, coming on 13-for-20 shooting from the field was a career high for the 6-foot-1 first-year forward from Illinois. It was her second double-double performance of her collegiate career, with the last one being a 12-point, 13-rebound effort against Penn on January 6. Through the opening seven games of league action, Cornell’s key reserve is first in shooting percentage (61.6%), fourth in conference scoring (15.9 per game), and sixth in rebounding (eight per contest), while playing in a team-high 31.4 minutes per game.
Mandy McGurk (Penn)
On a day where the Quakers two top five conference scorers (Kayla Padilla and Jordan Obi) had difficulty matching their usual numbers, Penn’s captain came through with 27 points on 80% shooting from the free throw line and 42% from the field. She also added a team-high three steals. The offensive output for the senior guard was her seventh game in double digits this season and one point shy of her career best, set at home against Brown on January 2. McGurk now sits second in steals (2.4), eighth in free throw shooting (70.8%) and tenth in scoring during league play (13.1).
Isabella Mauricio (Brown)
The 5-foot-4 sophomore kept the Bears in their game against Cornell by scoring a team-high 21 points. Last year, Mauricio started all 26 games, averaging 33.2 minutes (fourth best in the Ivies) and 14.4 points per game (fifth best). This year has been more of a challenge for the Bay Area guard, starting just over half of Brown’s contests, while averaging 24.8 minutes and 11.1 points. Hopefully, things have turned the corner with Mauricio back in the starting lineup, averaging 32.6 minutes and 16.7 points in the last three games.
Ellie Mitchell (Princeton)
While the entire Tigers team could have earned a spot on this list by limiting Yale to 30 total points and three quarters of single-digit scoring, Mitchell was the anchor in the middle, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds with five on the offensive glass. She also added eight points, two assists, two steals and a block. For what it’s worth heading into Saturday’s big matchup, her last double-digit effort on the glass was a monstrous 22-rebound performance against Columbia. For the season, the 6-foot-1 forward from Maryland’s 11.1 rebounds per game are 10th best in the nation, while her 4.05 offensive boards put her at No. 13 and the 7.05 defensive boards are No. 32.
Madison St. Rose (Princeton)
While the big news in Princeton’s blowout win against Yale was the defense, St. Rose led the offense with 17 points on 80% shooting from the free throw line, 50% from the field and 50% from the three-point line. The 5-foot-10 guard from Old Bridge, N.J., who earned two straight Ivy Rookie of the Week awards in January, hit double digits for the fifth time in the last six games and averaged 14.5 points on 50% field goal shooting (from two and three) during that stretch. Last season, the already successful Tigers took things up a notch with the improved production from then-sophomore Kaitlyn Chen. St. Rose’s growth over the last few weeks shows that history may be repeating itself for Princeton.
Harmoni Turner (Harvard)
With 12 points and 12 assists, Turner was one of two Harvard players putting up a double-double and one of four teammates scoring in double digits. She also added seven rebounds and three steals. The dozen assists were a career-high for the 5-foot-10 point guard from Texas. For the season, Turner is second in scoring (17.6), third in assists (4.4) and fourth in total assists (79).