Ivy women’s basketball week in review

1. Princeton (9-3)

Win – at Wagner, 58-37

Win – vs St. Joe’s, 63-54 (at Gainesville, Gator Classic)
Win – vs UT-Chattanooga, 59-49 (at Gainesville, Gator Classic)

The Tigers opened up a 17 point lead on Wagner by the second quarter, but the Seahawks got the lead down to five 30 seconds into the second half.  An 8-1 run over the next three minutes stretched the lead back to double-digits and the Tigers never looked back.  Leslie Robinson, Sydney Jordan and Carlie Littlefield each put up 10 points in the low-scoring contest.  Defensively, Princeton held Wagner to a season-low 37 points, including 30 percent shooting and only one three-pointer.

Down 20-19 with 5:45 to go in the first half, Princeton closed the second quarter on a 8-0 run to take a 7 point halftime lead against St. Joseph’s in the first round of the Gator Classic at the University of  Florida.  The Hawks battled back and cut the lead to two with 0:28 in the third, but the Tigers went 10-0 over the next 7:46 to create a 12-point advantage.  A 9-0 run by St. Joseph’s over the next two minutes cut its deficit to three, but the Hawks could not get any closer as they were held scoreless over the final 5:14.  Belle Alarie led the way for the Tigers with 21 points and nine rebounds.

On Thursday afternoon, the Tigers went up against a Chattanooga team that represented the Southern Conference in last year’s  NCAA Tournament.  With the score 22-18, Princeton closed out the first half on a 7-0 run to take a double digit lead into the third quarter.  The Tigers stretched its lead to 21 three minutes into the half, but the Mocs went on its own 17-4 run to bring the Princeton lead down to 8 with 9:32 left in the game.  Chattanooga only got as close as seven at the 5:10 mark as the Tigers closed out its second win in two days at the Gator Classic. Alarie had 16 points and 12 rebounds on her way to the being named Tournament MVP.  Robinson had  her own double double, 12 points and 10 boards, as she was selected to the All-Tournament team.

2. Brown (10-1)

Win – vs Boston University, 92-68

The Bears welcomed Boston University to the Pizzitola Center on Friday afternoon, and dominated the Terriers on its way to its eight straight victory.  Brown jumped out to a 22-8 first quarter lead and stretched it to 17 at the half.  Brown did not let up in the second half, widening its advantage to a high of 31 early in the fourth quarter.  The Bears were led Justine Gaziano’s game-high 26 points, while Shayna Mehta added 18 points and Taylor Will scored 16 points.  The team hit 11 three-pointers and 46 percent on the day, while holding BU to two three-pointers and 34 percent from the field.  With the win, the Bears continue to match the 2015-16 and 1973-74 teams for the best 11 game start in program history.

3. Penn (4-4)

Win – vs. Rhode Island, 84-66

On Friday afternoon, Penn hosted Rhode Island and had its strongest offensive day of the season.  The Quakers got in front 36-15 after 12 minutes and took a 47-29 lead into the locker room.  The Rams never got closer than 15 points early in the third quarter as Penn coasted to the win and a return to .500.  The Quakers placed five scorers in double figures, led by Ashley Russell’s career-high 17 points. Forwards Michelle Nwokedi and Eleah Parker each had 12 points and 11 assists, while Anna Ross had 11 points and 10 assists.

4. Yale (7-4)

Loss – vs Indiana, 72-68

The Indiana Hoosiers arrived at the John J. Lee Amphitheater for the first time on Thursday afternoon to take on a Yale team that had not played in nine days.  Down 10-6 in the first quarter, Yale bounced back to take an eight-point lead at the end of ten minutes and went into the locker room up six.  The Hoosiers took a 22-10 advantage in the third quarter to go into the fourth quarter ahead 51-45.  Yale battled back to take go up three with 5:52 left in the game, but Indiana matched that with a 7-0 run over to take a four-point lead at the 4:19 mark.  With 2:16 to go, Yale found itself down 64-63, but that would be as close as it would get as Indiana held on for the win.  Tamara Simpson had a game and career-high 31 points, as the senior guard went over 1,000 points for her career.  Jen Berkowitz and Ellen Margaret Andrews each added 13 points in the losing effort.  With the defeat, the Bulldogs are 1-3 against high-major competition, 2-3 at home, and 1-3 when scoring under 70 points.       

5. Harvard (6-5)

Loss – at Florida Gulf Coast, 65-56 (at Fort Myers, Hilton Garden Hill Classic)
Win – vs Akron, 76-63 (at Fort Myers, Hilton Garden Hill Classic)

The Crimson opened the Hilton Garden Hill Classic with a matchup against the Eagles of FGCU.  Following an opening ten minutes that saw Harvard down 20-17, both teams struggled from the field in the second quarter leaving the Eagles up 29-25 at the half.  The Crimson used a 9-0 run over a 4:38 period in the third quarter to take a 42-40 lead, however, an Eagles’ three-pointer with 0:28 left in the third frame left the Crimson down one with ten minutes to go in regulation.  After going up 52-48, FGCU closed the game on a 17-3 run for its 11th win of the season.  For Harvard, Taylor Rooks led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

Harvard returned on Thursday to take on Akron in the second and final round of the Garden Hill Classic.  The Crimson took a 13 point lead after the first 10:20, but the Zips reduced that to five over the next six minutes.  A 10-2 Harvard run at the end of the first half brought the lead back to 13.  The Crimson increased its advantage to 21 with 6:32 left in the final quarter, and never let Akron get closer than 13 points.  Rooks led all players with 17 points and Jeannie Boehm scored 13 points, as both earned spots on the All-Tournament team.      

6. Dartmouth (8-3)

Win – at Holy Cross, 76-74 (OT)

The Big Green continued its pre-conference five game road trip with a visit to Holy Cross on Wednesday.  It would be the second straight game played without starting forward Isalys Quinones, the team’s leading rebounder and third leading scorer.  Dartmouth struggled in the first quarter, shooting 25 percent overall and 0-7 from three, ending the period down eight.  In the second frame, however, the Big Green shot 56 percent and added four three pointers, while holding the Crusaders to only four baskets to take a 34-26 lead at halftime.  Despite the Green & White’s 17 third quarter points, Holy Cross scored 10 baskets on 59 percent shooting and added five free throws to take a three point lead at the end of the quarter.  Dartmouth tied the game at 62 with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.  After the Crusaders opened a four point lead with 1:36 left in the fourth, Cy Lippold scored two baskets in the next minute to send the game into overtime.  

With the score knotted at 74 and the Crusaders holding for one last shot, Lippold stole the ball with five seconds left and was fouled.  The point guard calmly sank both free throws to seal the victory for the Big Green.  Dartmouth had five players with double figure scoring, led by reserve center Olivia Smith’s 17 points.

7. Columbia (6-6)

Did Not Play

8. Cornell (2-8)

Loss – vs Oakland, 79-77 (OT)
Loss – vs Binghamton, 66-58 (OT)
Loss – at Drexel, 61-39

Oakland took a 10-point lead over Cornell late in the first quarter, but the Big Red brought the deficit down to three at halftime and took a one point lead at the 6:44 mark of the third quarter.  The Big Red opened its lead to five with 1:52 left in regulation, but the Grizzlies forced three turnovers and outscored Cornell 6-1 to end the fourth quarter tied at 68.  Down two with 0:20 to go in the first overtime, Cornell’s Dylan Higgins appeared to be fouled while hitting a game-tying layup.  Instead of going to the line to take the lead, the referee called a jump ball, giving the ball and, subsequently, the game to Oakland. Samantha Widmann led all players with 28 points, while Christine Ehland and Samantha Clement added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Cornell welcomed neighboring Binghamton to Newman Arena on the 18th and found itself in its second straight overtime game.  After a back and forth contest, Cornell took a three point advantage with 0:22 left in regulation.  The Bearcats inbounded the ball to Jasmine Sima, who was inexplicably fouled beyond the arc by senior Janee Dennis.  Sima sunk all three free throws to send the game into an extra  session.  The Big Red went 0-for-9 from the field and were outscored 8-0 in the extra period on its way to its second straight defeat.  While Imani Watkins scored a game high 36 points for Binghamton, Widmann had 16, Clement put up 13 and first-year forward Halley Miklos added 11 points for Cornell.

On Thursday, the Big Red traveled to the City of Brotherly Love to take on Drexel.  The Big Red were down by seven at halftime and kept the deficit at six entering the final stanza.  While Cornell held Drexel to 33.3 percent shooting through three quarters, they allowed the Dragons to shoot 73 percent (8-for-11) over the last 10 minutes on its way to a 16-point fourth quarter disadvantage and blowout defeat. Ehland led the Big Red with 13 points.  Widmann, the team’s leading scorer, was in foul trouble most of the game and held scoreless for the first time this season.

Ancient Eight’s Top Eight

Bella Alarie (sophomore forward, Princeton)
6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steals vs Wagner
21 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal vs St. Joseph’s
16 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block vs UT-Chattanooga

Justine Gaziano (sophomore guard, Brown)
26 points,  5 rebounds, 1 assist vs Boston University

Cy Lippold (junior guard, Dartmouth)
13 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 steals vs Holy Cross

Leslie Robinson (senior forward, Princeton)
10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists vs Wagner
10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal vs St. Joe’s
12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal vs  UT-Chattanooga

Taylor Rooks (senior guard, Harvard)
16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists at Florida Gold Coast
17 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal vs Akron

Ashley Russell (junior guard, Penn)
17 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals vs Rhode Island

Tamara Simpson (senior guard, Yale)
31 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals vs Indiana University

Olivia Smith (senior center, Dartmouth)
17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block vs Holy Cross