Princeton men best Bucknell, 82-69

Mitch Henderson’s Tigers squared off against the Bucknell Bison Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers entered the game as solid 12.5-point favorites. Bucknell came in at 2-7, a dreary start to the season. They lost at home to Penn by five points and on the road to Hofstra by 19.

The Tigers have been up and down of late, struggling somewhat on defense. But Henderson believes the stirring overtime win last week against Drexel may serve as a tonic for his club.

In hoping for something of breather, Henderson got his wish tonight as the Tigers cruised to an 82-69 win.

Princeton seized the momentum early and held it throughout the game. Princeton established a double-digit lead in the first five minutes, allowing Henderson to use an entire platoon of players. Before the proceedings ended, he would put 16 bodies on the floor. The first half ended with the Tigers firmly grasping a 13-point lead, 45-32.

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Evbuomwan shines, pushes Princeton men past Drexel in overtime, 81-79

Heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup with the Drexel Dragons at Jadwin Gym, Princeton coach Mitch Henderson was perplexed.

His club’s most recent outings against Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson and Hofstra have raised a degree of concern after a surprisingly good start to the season. His team’s defense has been too generous, yielding 76 in a road loss at Monmouth, 79 in a close win at home against FDU and 81 in a loss at Hofstra. The Hofstra loss was particularly galling because the Tigers surrendered 50 in the first half.

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Princeton women maul Maine, 82-43

The Tiger women opened the lone doubleheader on the schedule Sunday with a mashing of the Maine Black Bears, 82-43.

Princeton games usually feature a fast start defensively. Today’s effort fits nicely into that pattern, as the Tigers once again held an opponent to single digits over the span of an entire quarter of play.

At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers had sprinted to a 17-4 lead. For all intents, this one was over. For the season, the Tigers have outscored the opposition by 42 points in the opening period.

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Princeton women bounce back to stymie Temple, 59-41

The big question for Tiger fans as their team took the court to face the Temple Owls in Philadelphia Tuesday night was the status of captain and team leader Abby Meyers. A leg injury kept Meyers on the bench in the final period of Saturday’s nine-point loss at Rhode Island, after a career-best 23 points. Thankfully, Abby was in the starting lineup against the Owls, suffering no ill effects.

Carla Berube’s quintet exploded out of the blocks, racing to a 15-0 advantage before the Owls could get their gun out of its holster. The first quarter ended with the Tigers up 17-4. Princeton’s fresh legs on defense gave the Tigers another trademark single-digit yield.

Temple found itself in the second stanza, holding the Tigers to 10 points while closing to within 11 at the half, 27-16.

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Ivy hoops roundup – Hard roads, new hardwood and a Hamburger

The Ivy League conference schedules were released last month, but official releases of the Ivies’ nonconference slates have been trickling in and reveal that after the season that wasn’t, the Ancient Eight aren’t shying away from trekking throughout the country for out-of-conference competition. Meanwhile, the coaching carousel continues:

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Bella Alarie looking ahead to bright future with Dallas Wings

New Dallas Wing Bella Alarie looked ahead to her future in the WNBA in an interview with Ivy Hoops Online. (WNBA)

Ivy Hoops Online caught up with all-time Princeton great and new Dallas Wing Bella Alarie to see how she’s been doing since she became a WNBA draftee last week.

She may be turning pro, but she’s still got her senior thesis to finish.

“I am getting there,” Alarie said. “But I admit the week of the draft was distracting. Now that I have a little breather I can finish it up. It’s due in a few days and I’m going to make it.”

Alarie played primarily in the post as a college player. She sees herself as a stretch four, and the Wings staff agrees.

“I played guard as a teenager and didn’t reach my full height until I got to Princeton,” Alarie said. “I was very comfortable handling the ball and running the floor. The Wings expect me to shoot threes and play at a fast pace. I am really looking forward to the whole thing.”

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Princeton men roll over Columbia amid coronavirus threat

The mood in Jadwin Gymnasium last evening as the Tigers squared off against the Columbia Lions was different than usual, almost subdued. Perhaps it was the miserable weather, or perhaps it was the prospect of a meaningless game against the cellar-dwelling Lions.

In reality, the distracted atmosphere in the building was the product of the minute-by-minute developing story of the nationwide spread of the coronavirus, which has now reached the east coast and central New Jersey.

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Princeton women pummel Penn, 80-44

This week brought good news for the Tiger women. On Monday they received word that their 17-game winning streak and overall 21-1 record had vaulted them to No. 21 in the Coaches Poll and No. 23 in the AP Poll. Tiger do-everything player, Bella Alarie was named national Player of the Week by the USBWA. Princeton hoped to add to the excitement by dispatching their nearest Ivy competitor, second-place Penn, in the Tuesday night rematch at Jadwin Gym.

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