Penn Men’s Basketball Clinches Ivy Madness Berth, Saint Joseph’s Women’s Basketball Learns Their Tournament Seed
February 28, 2026 –
So what does a college basketball writer and fan do on a beautiful day on the last day of February of 2026? Enjoy the outside? Clean up around the house? Visit people? Noble pursuits. But this writer took a trip through the city to enjoy two games. The Saint Joseph’s Hawks women’s basketball team ended their regular season schedule against third place Richmond in the Atlantic 10. The University of Pennsylvania men’s team played their last regular season home game at the Palestra against league co-leader Harvard.
So the day started with a trip to 54th and City Line to see the Hawks and the Richmond Spiders. The opponent was in the top-three in the conference and featured Broomall resident and Cardinal O’Hara graduate Maggie Doogan. The Hawks hoped to cement their seed in the upcoming tournament and did get the fifth seed despite losing to Richmond 72 – 61. Then get back in the car to go to University City to see Penn play Harvard at the Palestra. That game turned out to be the crescendo built up to as the Red and Blue downed the Crimson 84 – 61.
So let’s take a look at the day and the details starting with the exciting finale at the Cathedral of College Basketball.
Penn Wins 64 – 61
With the win the Quakers clinched a bid to Ivy Madness, They presently hold the third seed with one game to play. The Red and Blue also wanted to see how they would fare against the Crimson who won the earlier game this season. It was a battle from beginning to end. It was an intense game where bodies hit the floor diving for loose balls, every rebound was contested, every shot was against intense defense.
“They were ready to play from the start, and we were sideways,” said Penn Coach Fran McCaffery. “They got us sideways, and then we stayed the course. The defensive intensity was different in the second half and that enabled us to get more opportunities in transition. We were able to get enough stops to win the game.”
Harvard had the early lead. Penn finally caught them at the 11:35 mark on two free throws by Quakers guard AJ Levine. Penn never lost that lead. In the last four minutes the Red and Blue saw their remaining four baskets come from Ethan Roberts.
Still the outcome hung in the balance. Harvard trailed by one and forced a held ball at the 28.9 second mark. The arrow pointed to Penn. Roberts scored on a basket where the opportunity came from an offensive rebound by Levine. Harvard missed two three point attempts and the clock ran out. The Quakers earned their berth in Ivy Madness.
“It meant everything,” said Roberts. “I kind of blacked out after the buzzer hit. This is what we wanted our team the entire year. This is literally all we’ve worked for. This has been our North Star. I can really put it into words. In short, it meant everything.”
Levine added “That buzzer went off and I realized what we had done, and how it’s just the start. We’re going to compete there. It felt amazing to just see the hard work payoff. But it will really pay off when we go up there, when we do it again.”
The team has one more game remaining against Brown next week. Penn will aim to hold their seed. This is a squad that kept improving since the start of the season. Now are playing their best basketball at the right time.
“It’s a great feeling as a coach to have a group of guys who bought in from day one, and want to experience success,” McCaffery said. “You know the thing we have to do now? We have to stay locked in. We earned an opportunity. We have to play well next week and then get ready to play well against two really good teams.”
The initial game could well be against Harvard.
Richmond Downs Saint Joseph’s 72 – 61
The Hawks also completed the regular season at home against the Spiders. St. Joe’s was short handed as Gabby Casey was out due to injury. The Hawks also faced one of the best players in the league Spiders forward Maggie Doogan. Her mother Chrissie is the head girl’s basketball coach and Athletic Director at Cardinal O’Hara.
St. Joe’s played scrappy, stayed on contention, but Richmond had the better team and Doogan. She scored 35 points, her second highest point output this season.
In the last two minutes of the first half with the Hawks down by 23 – 22, the Spiders went on a 5 – 0 run to halftime. Then in the second half, the visitors used a 9 – 4 run to take a double-digit lead. Saint Joseph’s did fight back. The team hit only 2 three-point shots in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter they made 6 of 13 shots, 4 drained by Emily Knouse. Three came back-to-back-to-back.
The Hawks did not let the game get too far away from them. And showed their coach they are ready for the postseason.
“It’s a positive,” said Coach Cindy Griffin. “Look at our schedule in the league. We have the toughest schedule. You’re playing the top three teams twice. We’ve been dealt a pretty tough hand. I thought we responded really well. I thought our kids stepped up.”
“I like where we are and it’s a new season. It doesn’t matter what your record is and who you didn’t beat. I think it’s a good place to be.”
Saint Joseph’s finishes in a fifth-place tie with La Salle, one spot behind a coveted top-four finish. The Hawks get the fifth seed due to defeating the Explorers twice during the season. Saint Joe’s plays the winner of the VCU vs. Duquesne game with #4 Davidson waiting. La Salle gets the winner of Fordham and Saint Louis for the opportunity to play Richmond.
Now, time for some sleep.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@phillycollegesports.com
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