Home of the Roundball Poets
The Columbia women started slow but found fifth gear after halftime to race past Penn, 61-56, on Wednesday night in New York — breaking an 18-game losing streak against the Quakers that stretched back to 2011.
Ninety-five years after Penn opened up the Palestra with a win over Yale, this edition of the Red & Blue sought another reset Saturday against the team pegged to win the Ivy title in the conference preseason media poll.
Yale staked its claim to second place in Ivy women’s basketball Saturday afternoon at home by beating Penn, 63-53.
There may be a new schedule for Ancient Eight rivalries, but the Penn men had an all too familiar result against Princeton on Monday afternoon.
The question going into their game Monday against Princeton was whether the Penn women, who have been inconsistent, could put together their best game against the Ivies’ best. The Quakers played well, but the Tigers played so much better, winning 70-50.
The biggest obstacle to Penn’s women’s team Saturday afternoon may have been the cold at Dartmouth: The team bus wouldn’t start to take the players from their motel to Leede Arena.
In front of an enthusiastic yet sparse Saturday matinee crowd at the Palestra, the Penn men bounced back from last Saturday’s loss to Columbia to defeat Dartmouth, 78-68, and move to 3-1 in Ivy League play.
Columbia’s and Penn’s women’s games slated for this weekend have been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns and safety protocols within the programs, the Ivy League and schools announced Thursday.
Columbia was slated to play Princeton Friday evening and Penn Saturday evening at Levien Gym, while Penn was scheduled to play at Cornell before making the vaunted Empire State trip south to take on the Lions.
The Penn at Harvard men’s game originally slated for Fri., Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. has been rescheduled for Sat., Jan. 29 at 2 p.m., Penn Athletics announced Wednesday. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.