Penn still secures No. 3 seed in Ivy League tournament despite losing to Princeton

Penn dropped its regular season finale to Princeton, 72-51 in women’s basketball action from the Palestra on Friday night. The loss was just the Quakers’ (17-10, 9-5 Ivy) second at home this season (12-2) but it matters little considering they’re on the road from here on out as the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Ivy League tournament.

OK, hold on...about that No. 3 seed… while it may look as though it could get snatched with an entire Saturday of Ivy League action left, Penn would retain the spot even with Harvard nipping at its heels. The Crimson (15-10, 8-5) travel to last place Dartmouth (2-25, 0-13) and with a win would share a 9-5 conference record with Penn.

As for Princeton, it locked up at least a share of the Ivy League regular season title in the win but could still fall to the No. 2 seed after tomorrow’s games.

However, Penn would win given a regular season sweep of Yale, with Harvard splitting the season series with the Bulldogs. Both Penn and Harvard split their season series this year both winning at home against the other.

As far as Friday’s home and regular-season finale, the end result doesn’t tell the tale of a Penn side that scratched and clawed for a good chunk of the game before a dominant third quarter in which the Quakers scored just seven points to Princeton’s 27 proving the ultimate nail in the coffin. Penn actually led at the half, 31-29.

Jordan Obi led Penn with a double-double 19-point, 11 rebound performance off the bench while senior Kayla Padilla added 17. However, it was a dismal performance from the rest of the Quakers who shot just 39.2% from the field, and just 23.1% from three-point range.

Penn will face either Columbia or setup a rematch with Princeton depending on whichever takes the No. 2 seed next Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+).