A game of real consequence

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PRINCETON, N.J. -- It's nothing new for Penn and Princeton to be meeting at Jadwin Gym at the end of the basketball season with the Ivy League title in the balance. This year, though, it's the women's game that will affect the championship race, not the men's game. If Princeton beats Penn and Dartmouth beats Harvard, there will be a three-way tie atop the Ancient Eight standings for the first time ever.

As it stands, Brown is currently alone in first place at 12-2. If either the Big Green or Tigers win but not both, the winning team would face the Bears in a playoff on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Yale. If both teams win, there would be a coin flip to decide who would get a bye to the final. The first game would take place Friday at 7 p.m. and the second game would take place Sunday at 2 p.m.; both would also be played at Yale.

There have been six two-way ties in the 31-year history of Ivy League women's basketball, with the most recent coming last year between Dartmouth and Harvard. Penn has never been involved in a first-place tie, but it has forced another team into one. In the final game of the 1998-99 season, the Quakers beat Princeton at Jadwin, 73-65, forcing the Tigers into a playoff against Dartmouth. The Big Green won that game and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The circumstances are different this year, because Princeton has to win to have any shot at the post-season. I'm sure Penn would like nothing more, though, than to salvage a bit of pride from this disappointing season by denying its arch-rivals a shot at the Big Dance.

Will it happen? Princeton is definitely the better team. But as I write this post, the Tigers are only up by a point, 21-20, with 5:46 remaining in the first half.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: It's halftime, and while Penn was able to keep it close for much of the first 20 minutes, Princeton has pulled out to a 35-29 lead at the break. Penn had a chance at a last-second shot, but center Jen Fleischer airballed a hook shot. The Quakers are clearly giving it everything they have; the only question is whether they can keep up that intensity through the second half.

FINAL: Princeton wins, 67-55. Penn fought pretty valiantly, but a four-minute dry spell in the second half allowed the Tigers to put the game out of reach. Joey Rhoads led all scorers with a heroic 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Meagan Cowher was Princeton's leading scorer with 20 points, and her father, Bill -- also known as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- was there to witness the effort. Senior center Becky Brown scored 16 points, making her the Ivy League's leading scorer for the season. Jessica Berry and Katy O'Brien also recorded double digits in scoring for the Tigers.

I'll have a longer recap on our main site soon.