Ivy Hoops Online contributor George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps and reflects on Princeton men’s basketball improving to 9-0 with an 81-70 win over Drexel at Jadwin Gym Tuesday night:
Drexel
Rookie production, Mitchell dominance key in successful weekend for Princeton squads
In his latest report, Ivy Hoops Online writer George “Toothless Tiger” Clark highlights key rookie contributions in the Princeton men’s 83-63 win at Drexel Saturday and Ellie Mitchell’s stat sheet-stuffing dominance in the Princeton women’s 65-51 victory at Maine:
Takeaways after Penn men notch first win of season at Drexel
After an 0-3 start, Penn is off the schneid.
The Quakers used a solid defensive performance to build a 15-point lead over Drexel early in the second half, and after wobbling a bit, made enough plays down the stretch to seal a 64-59 win over their next-door neighbors Tuesday night.
Yale women fade late and fall at Drexel, 59-52
The pattern was largely the same, but unfortunately for Yale, the result was different from some recent comeback wins in the Bulldogs’ 59-52 loss at Drexel Tuesday.
The Bulldogs fell behind Drexel, 31-12, and were down 33-24 at the half.
The third quarter was a different story. Yale won the stanza, 18-8, with Camilla Emsbo scoring 12 of her 21 points. The visitors took a 42-41 lead.
Ivy hoops roundup – New opportunities
As Ivy League basketball emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, new opportunities abound for new and returning Ivy players, coaches and even windows:
Ivy hoops roundup – Aug. 1, 2020
Back on the Jazz
Miye Oni returned to the Utah Jazz official 17-man roster for the Jazz’s NBA season reopening win over the New Orleans Pelicans in Orlando on TNT Thursday evening, the NBA’s first action since March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oni did not play but did join the other players in kneeling for the national anthem. Oni wore Power to the People on the back of his jersey, as all of his teammates opted to replace their last names on their jerseys with a message of social justice.
Oni briefly got playing time toward the end of the Jazz’s second game Saturday, a 110-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Orlando. In his sixth NBA game, Oni pitched in three points, two rebounds, a steal and a block in just under six minutes of action.
Dartmouth men announce Class of 2024
Dartmouth men’s basketball recently announced its Class of 2024 on Twitter:
Penn grinds out win over Drexel in defensive Battle of 33rd Street
On a day when the ball seemed too slick to handle, the Penn women managed not to let a victory slip away, beating a persistent Drexel team 53-49 at the Palestra.
Credit some key threes by guards Kayla Padilla and Phoebe Sterba, a resurgence for center Eleah Parker, clutch steals by Kendall Grasela and sterling play on both ends by Tori Crawford.
Penn proves it’s not all about the three-point line in loss at No. 23 Villanova
Penn may have lost 80-69 to Villanova at Finneran Pavilion Wednesday night, but the final score doesn’t reflect the fairly even play between the Big 5 rivals, notwithstanding the strong finishes the Wildcats ended both halves on to clinch the win.
How reigning Big 5 champion Penn (5-4) hung with the Wildcats (6-2) is important.
Princeton men’s basketball searching for consistency, identity and leadership
One month into the 2019-20 season, the Princeton men’s basketball team is off to its worst seven-game start against Division I competition since the 1984-85 season, in which it started 0-6 and then 1-6 against Division I teams. The Tigers opened their 2019-20 campaign with five straight losses before finally shooting their way to a win at Bucknell last Saturday. Princeton fell flat in the second half against the Drexel Dragons Wednesday night and lost again on the road. The Tigers’ 1-6 start echoes the frustrations of the 1979-80 team, which also struggled out of the gate at 0-5 and finished the nonconference schedule with a 4-11 record.
However, that Tigers squad of 40 years ago scratched its way to a tie for the Ivy League title before falling in a playoff game by a single point to Penn. Can this year’s team come together in similar fashion once Ivy League play begins? Here is my assessment of what ails the Tigers at the halfway mark of the nonconference season.
WNIT recap: Penn and Harvard move on with wire-to-wire wins
Penn (23-6) 64 vs. American (22-11) 45
In a game between the regular season co-champions of the Ivy and Patriot Leagues, the Quakers dominated all facets of the game and ran away with a 64-45 victory. Penn jumped out to a 16-5 lead after one quarter and stretched it to 23 with just under a minute to go in the first half. American scored the first seven points of the third quarter to make it a 41-24 game, but that would be the closest they would get.