Simone Sawyer propels Penn women’s basketball to bounceback win at Hofstra

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Tina Njike readies for the opening tip against Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Nov. 15, 2025. (Rob Browne/Ivy Hoops Online)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Simone Sawyer dominated both sides of the ball on Saturday afternoon, leading the Penn women’s team to a methodical 67-55 defeat of Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

The senior guard from Lincolnshire, Ill. led the offense with a 21-point, nine rebound performance and spearheaded a tenacious Quakers defense that shut down the Pride’s top three scorers in the second half.

“This was the best basketball game we’ve seen a guard at Penn play in a long time. Simone Sawyer was that good,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin told Ivy Hoops Online immediately after the game. “She defended 94 feet almost the entire time, she guarded their point of attack. A great effort.” 

The victory was a solid return to form, following a tough loss at Drexel earlier in the week, and puts Penn at 3-1 on the young season. Hofstra, meanwhile, moves to 1-2.

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Yale men’s basketball steps past Stony Brook

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Yale men’s basketball was finally tested but survived a Stony Brook scare and hung on for an 86-79 win Saturday at John J. Lee Amphitheater.

The Bulldogs (3-0) held a narrow 40-38 halftime lead over the Seawolves (3-1), who went 8-for-14 from three-point range in the stanza.

Yale was up 46-43 and then went on a 15-6 run, keyed by two threes by senior forward Nick Townsend.

Stony Brook cut the score to 74-70 at the 2:12 mark. Then junior guard Trevor Mullin hit a key trey and Yale never looked back.

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Tiger Takeaways from Princeton women’s basketball’s dreamy start and a look ahead to Maryland

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So far, the Princeton women’s basketball team’s dream season has unfolded, well, like a dream.

The Tigers have opened up the 2025-26 campaign with two big road wins over power-conference opponents, both in exhilarating fashion. In each game, the Tigers trailed for a majority of the contest only to have the lights suddenly come on in the final stanza. 

In the team’s season opener Sunday at Georgia Tech, Carla Berube’s squad overcame a sluggish first quarter and an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win, 67-61.

Three days later at Villanova, the Tigers rallied in carbon-copy fashion from a 10-point deficit in the fourth to win again, 73-68. 

Here are three takeaways from the Tigers’ promising start to the season and a preview of this weekend’s epic matchup with Maryland:

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Déjà vu for Princeton women’s basketball as it rallies in fourth quarter to top Villanova

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The Princeton women’s basketball team must have enjoyed coming back in the fourth quarter so much on Sunday at Georgia Tech that it decided to do it all over again on Wednesday night at Villanova.

Trailing the Wildcats 57-50 at the end of the third quarter, the Tigers once again turned the screws on their hosts, outscoring Villanova 23-11 in the fourth quarter to steal a 73-68 win at Finneran Pavilion.

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Yale men’s basketball notches road rout of Quinnipiac

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Yale men’s basketball dispatched preseason MAAC favorite Quinnipiac (1-2) in Hamden, Conn. last night, 97-60. Yale (2-0) was down early and grabbed a 24-23 lead over the hosts (1-2) and the Bulldogs were off to the races.

“It was a great team performance. Our kids played really well together,” said coach James Jones.

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Quakeaways from Penn men’s basketball’s loss at Providence

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For about 30 minutes or so Tuesday night, Penn men’s basketball put forth a competitive showing at heavily favored Providence, hanging in there against its Big East opponent using a combination of excellent outside shooting and opportunistic turnovers.

But it was obvious that the Quakers’ defensive dam would eventually break, and break it did. The Friars wound up crossing the century mark in a 106-81 win at the arena now affectionately known as “The AMP” (Amica Mutual Pavilion).

The biggest individual swing came when junior forward TJ Power missed three free throws midway through the second half when he had a chance to cut the Penn (1-2) deficit to just 10 points. Providence (2-1) responded with a corner three after the string of misses, a six-point swing.

Penn’s offensive charge was led by senior wing Michael Zanoni, who dropped in a career-high 30 points. His performance was Penn’s biggest highlight in an evening that had moments of brilliance, frustration and everything in between.

The matchup with Providence — one of the better teams Penn will face all year — exposed the Quakers’ biggest weaknesses and showcased their strengths.

So where exactly does Penn stand after playing three games in five days?

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Weak second half dooms Harvard women’s basketball at UMass

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Playing its third game in five days, including a second straight road trip, Harvard women’s basketball ran out of gas in the second half and fell 68-55 to UMass at the Mullins Center on Tuesday night.

In a fast-paced physical game, the Crimson (1-2) used an 8-0 run to close out the first frame to take a 17-13 lead, then scored 12 of the last 14 points of the second quarter to head into the locker room up 29-22.

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