All season long, Penn basketball's first-year coach Steve Donahue’s mantra has been simple: “We’re trying to build this into a championship program.” On Friday night, he may have gotten a first-hand view of what one looks like.

The Red and Blue will get a chance this weekend to rebound from a tough loss. But with non-conference play having reached its end, the next loss could be devastating. Penn women's basketball (12-3, 1-0 Ivy) will play host to Yale (11-8, 2-0) on Friday and Brown (12-4, 0-2) on Saturday in the Quakers' first Ivy doubleheader of the season.

Coming off a gripping 5-4 comeback victory at Trinity last Saturday, the Penn women (7-1, 1-1 Ivy) will have to defend their No. 2 ranking in the faces of the third-ranked Tigers (5-1, 1-1) Saturday afternoon.

On non-conference schedule: I thought we had some solid performances. We had some games where we would have liked to have played better and closed it out with some leads and some games.

Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” But I have to disagree with the football legend on this one — at least in the context of Penn basketball. On Tuesday night, Penn women’s basketball lost to Villanova, 66-46, in what undoubtedly was its worst performance of an otherwise stellar season.

If the Penn football team beats Cornell at Franklin Field to win the Ivy League title and Brian Seltzer is not in the booth to provide commentary, did it really happen? Ever since 2008, the 2007 college graduate has been the voice of Penn football.

In most college sports, you see scores of amateurs competing to be a part of a select few good enough to compete professionally after graduation.

If you’re going to beat Penn women’s basketball, you’re going to need to hit the treys. And that's exactly what Villanova did. As the Wildcats rained down threes, the Quakers offered little in response as their Big 5 title hopes dissipated on Tuesday, falling 66-46 at the Pavilion. The game didn’t look like it would be ugly at the start.

Despite reports in December that the Ivy League was on the verge of announcing a postseason tournament to crown a conference champion, the actual pace of action seems to be a good deal slower.

For me, it’s a no-brainer. The Ivy League needs a conference tournament for basketball. When you look at Ivy Athletics as a whole, there’s something left to be desired for those students who are fans of NCAA athletics as a whole.

It may only be January, but it’s already time for championship basketball. In the midst of a seven-game win streak, Penn women’s basketball has an opportunity to clinch a share of its second Philadelphia Big 5 title in as many years, heading to rival Villanova tonight in a battle for local supremacy. “We’re playing good basketball right now; we’re defending well, rebounding the ball as well as we’ve done all year and getting into a better flow in transition,” coach Mike McLaughlin said.

This weekend, even the snow couldn't stop the tumbling, flipping, and twisting of Penn gymnastics. The Quakers defeated Yale on Sunday in their first Ivy dual meet of the year by a score of 189.575-188.725.

While the blizzard raged on, Penn women’s squash found its fire on Saturday.

Oh the weather outside is frightful ... and it is apparently a bit too frightful for the Philadelphia Invitational that Penn Fencing was scheduled to host throughout Saturday and Sunday.

Taking the court in a cross-town affair for the second time in four days on Thursday, Penn women's basketball couldn't have been more familiar with the opponent it was set to face.

On Wednesday night, Penn men’s basketball was beaten by a much better team. The Red and Blue were routed by Saint Joseph’s, a well-oiled juggernaut of a squad that sits as the nation’s 30th-best team by RPI.

And it was a beautiful night at the Palestra on Tuesday for the Quakers. That is, until their game got fully underway.