Women’s basketball (18–2 overall, 6–1 Ivy League) is set to play Penn (13–7, 3–4) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Jadwin Gymnasium. After avenging their home loss to Columbia with a win over Cornell the very next day, the Tigers are looking to continue to dominate within the Ivy League. Princeton has dominated Penn over the past years, recording 15 straight wins over the Quakers, and will look to extend the streak come Friday night. Our staff at the The Daily Princetonian shared their predictions for the game.
Princeton 75, Penn 66 – Jordan Halagao, assistant Sports editor
Penn will be riding the momentum of a win against Columbia, whom the Tigers lost to just last week. Princeton is coming off a strong outing against Cornell, winning by double digits and displaying a strong fourth-quarter performance after a closely contested first three quarters. Against Penn, the Tigers will need to get settled in early, minimize turnovers, and play strong defense out of the gate. Columbia’s early fast pace ended up hurting the Tigers last week, so the Orange and Black need to control the game from the jump.
Expect the game to be a shoot-out. Princeton and Penn both rely heavily on the three-pointer for their success, each leading the Ivy League in made three-pointers. Princeton holds the edge in three-point percentage with 34.5 percent to Penn’s 30.6 percent. On the flip side, both Princeton and Penn have struggled to defend the perimeter, ranking seventh and eighth, respectively, in opponent three-point field goal percentage in the Ivy League. That being said, look for the Tigers to have a hot hand and outperform the Quakers from deep, helping them secure the victory.
Princeton 67, Penn 59 – Emilia Reay, senior Sports writer
“You mainly learn from the games you lose,” women’s basketball junior guard Skye Belker told the ‘Prince’ about the Tigers’ loss to Columbia last Friday. After that game, Columbia couldn’t celebrate for long though, as Penn handed it right back to the Lions and beat them 64–55 in a big conference upset.
All this to say, the game between No. 23 women’s basketball and Penn will be exciting to watch as the Quakers look for their second Ivy upset, but Princeton is going to put Penn in their place. The last time these teams played against each other was in January, where Princeton won 74–68, and junior guard/forward Olivia Hutcherson led the Tigers with a 20 piece.
Just last week, Hutcherson was named Ivy League Player of the Week. In her performance against Columbia, she dominated with a double-double and most recently during Princeton’s contest against Cornell, Hutcherson matched her personal best by scoring 20 points. With Hutcherson continuing to be a force for Princeton, the Tigers will top the Quakers on Friday to prove that Penn’s win against Columbia was a one-off.
Princeton 69, Penn 62 – Julian Benkin Danoff, Sports contributor
Jan. 25, 2019 — that’s the last time Penn defeated Princeton in women’s basketball. The most recent of the Tigers’ 15 subsequent wins came Jan. 3, 2026 in Philadelphia to open Ivy League play. It was a back-and-forth battle in which the Quakers shot better from the field, but the Tigers dominated from the foul line with 20 free throws made to Penn’s 7. Coming off an impressive win against Columbia last Saturday, perhaps smelling blood in the water after Princeton was exposed in a loss to those same Lions last Friday, and doubtless hungry for revenge after their last defeat at home to Princeton, the Quakers cannot be counted out in this matchup despite their losing Ivy record of 3–4.
Still, the Tigers should pull this one out at home. It comes down to depth; with leading scorer senior guard Madison St. Rose out with an injury last Saturday against Cornell, the Tigers showed that off as Hutcherson and Belker put in huge 20 point performances. Excluding St. Rose, the Tigers have four other true bucket-getters who average double digits and who can explode on any given night. The Quakers have good offensive options of their own, with recent show-outs from Katie Collins and Mataya Gayle, but not nearly the same abundance of scoring riches as Princeton. With Penn’s formidable defense, expect a relatively even match, but the Tigers will still notch their 16th consecutive win against the Quakers, especially seeing as St. Rose is likely returning to the floor.
Jordan Halagao is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Emilia Reay is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Julian Benkin Danoff is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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