Ivy Hoops Online editor Mike Tony and IHO writer Rob Browne discuss memorable postseason runs for Princeton men’s and women’s basketball and Columbia and Harvard in the WNIT, the new “Big 5” (really City 6) Classic, the prospect and potential impact of athletic scholarships for Ivy hoopsters and much more:
Big 5
Padilla leads Penn women in squeaker over Temple
Kayla Padilla capped a milestone day with a left-handed drive through three defenders and led the Penn women to a raucous 62-61 win over Temple Sunday at the Palestra.
The basket with 6.8 seconds left gave Padilla 28 points on the day and 1,013 in her COVID-shortened career. The Quakers (6-5) head into a break for finals and Christmas with a five-game winning streak — sure to hit six, let’s face it, December 30 against Gwynedd Mercy before the start of Ivy play.
Three Quakeaways from Penn men’s 77-57 win over Temple
Penn closed out the meaningful portion of its nonconference schedule on a joyful note Saturday, riding a 24-4 game-ending run to down Temple at the Palestra, 77-57.
For the Quakers (6-7, 1-3 Big 5), the win was their second over a team ranked in the KenPom top 100 this season. The Owls, who were looking to wrap up a perfect run through the Big 5, entered Saturday ranked 92nd by KenPom.
As usual, junior guard Jordan Dingle played the hero. Dingle outshone Temple’s Khalif Battle, a fellow 20+ point per game scorer, all afternoon. After Battle tied the game at 53 with an and-one drive, Dingle responded in turn with a tough finish through contact from Battle to give Penn a 55-53 lead at the under-eight media timeout.
Dingle converted his and-one free throw coming out of the break, and the Quakers never looked back.
Penn will now take a much-needed three-week break for finals before returning on Dec. 28 for a tune-up game ahead of Ivy League play against Wilkes, a Division III school.
Here are three key lessons from Saturday’s game Quakers fans can glean as the team enters a long layoff:
Three Quakeaways from another devastating Big 5 defeat for Penn men against La Salle
Penn’s matchup with Fran Dunphy-helmed Big 5 foe La Salle on Saturday was a disturbing replay of its Wednesday loss to Saint Joseph’s.
Again, the Quakers let a second half lead slip away against an opponent they were outplaying.
Again, they needed heroics from the incomparable Jordan Dingle to force a tie and reach overtime.
And again, they squandered a late opportunity to tie the game in overtime. This time, freshman Cam Thrower, playing extended minutes for the first time all season, missed a decent three-point look with seven seconds to go in the extra frame which would have tied the contest.
Three Quakeaways from Penn men’s overtime loss to Saint Joseph’s
It’s not often that a team manages to lose a game in which it goes on a 21-2 run, but Penn did just that on Wednesday night, dropping its Big 5 opener to Saint Joseph’s in overtime at the Palestra, 85-80.
The Quakers (5-5) dominated the Hawks for 25 minutes, but that simply wasn’t enough. Saint Joseph’s (3-3) clawed back from a 14-point second half deficit on the back of some ramped-up defensive intensity, using ball-side pressure to disrupt Penn’s dribble handoffs and passing. Couple that with some three-point shooting progression to the mean, and you have a recipe for a comeback.
Despite everything, Penn held leads with 77 seconds left in regulation, 1:55 left in overtime and 1:00 left in overtime. Even after giving up the lead for good, the Quakers had four possessions in the final 56 seconds of overtime with a chance to win or extend the game.
Three open looks from long range did not go down for Jonah Charles or Clark Slajchert, while a fourth chance was wiped away by a debatable charge call on sophomore swingman Eddie Holland III.
What did Penn fans learn from an excruciating defeat?
Penn women drop home opener to No. 24 Villanova, 67-41
The Penn women had their home opener Thursday at the Palestra, and an excellent team showed off its talent and consistently fine play.
Unfortunately for Penn, that team was Villanova, which won 67-41.
Ivy hoops roundup – April 10, 2022
Cannady completing a comeback
Devin Cannady is nearing the end of a 10-day contract with the Orlando Magic that has marked an extraordinary comeback from a devastating injury for the former Princeton standout.
Cannady signed the contract March 31, making the jump from the Lakeland Magic of the NBA G League, where he had been averaging 15.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 16 games and 11 starts.
Penn stymies Temple, 66-59, to split Big 5 slate
Fran Dunphy’s teams always seemed to play great defense, whether at Penn or Temple.
Dunphy was honored with a standing ovation prior to the game, the first meeting between the two without either being coached by Dunphy in 31 seasons Saturday at the Palestra, and defense was fittingly the order of the day.
The Big 5 rivals held each other under a point per possession, but it was Penn that made enough shots for a 66-59 win.
Temple takes Big 5 crown in late comeback over Penn women
The Penn women, who looked like Big 5 champions in the fall when they beat St. Joseph’s and La Salle (and Drexel, for that matter), missed a share of the city title when they went cold from outside, gave up 29 points in the fourth quarter and lost at Temple Thursday night, 76-72.
Temple and Villanova get to share Philadelphia bragging rights with three wins each in the series. Penn gets to wonder how it’s lost three games in a row, albeit to good teams, and how the defense on which it prides itself failed to protect a 15-point lead.
Led by Kayla Padilla, Penn has been full of surprises
The Penn women played Princeton dead even in the regular season last year and almost beat them in the Ivy League Tournament. They lost two starters to graduation, but this year wasn’t supposed to provide much in the way of surprises: relentless defense, a disciplined half-court offense, and dominant play by junior center Eleah Parker. Well, Penn has been full of surprises, most of them good.