Penn rallied to defeat Columbia on Saturday evening at the Palestra a day after a narrow loss to Cornell, closing out a two-day stretch of Ivy League games on a high note.
The 64-55 win over the Lions (14-6, 5-2) marked the first win over Columbia in three years for the Quakers (13-7, 3-4) and kept alive Penn’s hopes of competing for the Ivy title. It also dropped the Lions out of a tie for first place with Princeton.
And it erased the pain of a nail-biting 62-58 home loss to the Big Red on Friday that snapped a two-game Quakers winning streak.
“We were hungry,” said Penn guard Mataya Gayle, who finished with a team-high 16 points and seven assists against Columbia. “We wanted it. I think that showed in how we played. We were all over the court. We know they’re a good team, but we put in our heads that today we’re going to be the better team.”
New lease on life
The Lions entered boasting a 5-1 Ivy record after defeating No. 19 Princeton on Friday night. On the flip side, Penn’s loss to Cornell put it at sixth in the Ivy League — three games back from competing for a spot in the league tournament.
Following the loss, Penn coach Mike McLaughlin pressured the team to step up its effort, knowing the kind of battle the players had ahead of them.
“I challenged them that you can’t be outplayed,” McLaughlin said. “You can get out-skilled, but you can’t have someone play harder than you.”
Against Columbia, it was evident that the players took that advice to heart. Using a 3-2 zone defense for a majority of the matchup, the Quakers held Columbia to 32.3% shooting from the floor.
“Losing to Cornell was not ideal,” Gayle said. “Our backs were against the wall, but I think that also gave us another boost today. We went out there like we had the most to lose, but also nothing to lose. We competed. You saw everyone on the court doing what they needed to do, the little things. We took yesterday’s loss and learned from it, and that translated today.”
‘Not an easy task’
McLaughlin has been looking for players to step up and support the team’s stars, Katie Collins (nine points) and Gayle, and for the first time in Ivy League play, he got his wish.
Every player to log more than three minutes for Penn scored at least eight points, which helped overcome a 24-point night from Columbia guard Riley Weiss. The supporting cast was headlined by a double-double from center Tina Njike, who bounced back from a difficult 13-minute performance against Cornell to finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“I’m really proud of Tina,” McLaughlin said. “Thirty-five minutes. It’s not an easy task for anyone.”
Brooke Suttle, whom McLaughlin has relied upon as the team’s de facto sixth man, also shined, scoring 11 points.
Honoring the 2001 team
In attendance was Penn’s 2001 championship team, which was honored at halftime in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the program’s first Ivy League title.
Penn, coached by Kelly Greenberg, went 14-0 in league play en route to securing the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid with a record of 22-6.
“It was a great building tonight,” McLaughlin said in reference to the former players’ support. “That was about as fun as I think these kids can play in this environment. And I want them to experience that, too. All this came together tonight.”
Next up
Another big test awaits the Quakers on Friday when they face Princeton (18-2, 6-1) on the road (7 p.m., ESPN+).
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