No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball demolishes Dartmouth for second 50-point road win in program history

The No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball team reached rarefied air on Friday night by shellacking the Dartmouth Big Green, 97-47, at Leede Arena in Hanover to record just the second 50-point road win in program history.

The demolition of Dartmouth was the most lopsided margin of victory for a Princeton team since the 2014-15 Tigers defeated Portland State 104-33 on Dec. 19, 2014, at Jadwin Gymnasium.

Although the Tigers (22-3, 10-2 Ivy) struggled initially to find their defensive footing, a steady stream of scoring by Princeton’s starters gave the visitors a 24-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second stanza, every Tiger got into the act.

A nice move and finish in the paint by freshman Sarah Lessig with 1:22 to play in the second quarter extended the lead to 40-22 as the freshman forward became the tenth Princeton player to score in the first half. Lessig finished with five points, a career high, a rebound and an assist in 10 minutes of playing time.

A 4-0 run by Dartmouth (10-15, 1-11 Ivy) to close out the quarter trimmed Princeton’s lead to 40-26 at the intermission.

In the second half, Princeton put the game out of reach with a 9-0 run to open the third quarter. The Tigers got a stop on Dartmouth’s first possession of the stanza and converted a transition layup by Ashley Chea.

Moments later, Olivia Hutcherson stole the ball from Zeynep Ozel at halfcourt and took it to the hoop for a layup to put the Tigers up by 18.

Big Green coach Linda Cimino quickly called timeout to stop the bleeding, but no adjustments could compensate for Princeton’s superior depth and athleticism.

The Tigers outscored Dartmouth 32-12 in the third quarter to effectively put the game away.

In the fourth quarter, Princeton continued to roll behind the balanced scoring of its entire roster.

A pair of layups and a free throw by Fadima Tall along with a three-pointer by Skye Belker cemented the rout as Princeton nearly hit the century mark for the second time this season.

Here are three Tiger Takeaways from Princeton’s 22nd win of the 2025-26 campaign and 17th consecutive triumph over Dartmouth:

1. Dartmouth was no match for Princeton’s depth.

Depth has been an issue at times this season for Princeton, but Friday night, Berube had a relatively flush roster at her disposal with 10 players suiting up, including Toby Nweke, who was forced to miss Princeton’s last two games due to an injury.

Nweke made the most of her return to action, tallying 12 points and grabbing five steals, a career high, in 22 minutes of playing time.

Overall, six Tigers reached double figures, including reserve forward Emily Eadie, who scored a career-high and game-high 13 points in only 19 minutes of court time. Fadima Tall and Madison St. Rose, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, also tallied 13 points for Princeton.

But the player of the game was senior center Taylor Charles, who tallied ten points and grabbed ten rebounds, both career highs, for her first double-double while wearing the Orange and Black. Charles also registered four blocks and stole the ball three times in only 19 minutes of playing time.

“You know, it’s a long trip from Princeton to Dartmouth, so [coach Berube] told us to make great plays,” Charles told ESPN+ after the game. “You have to go out there and get every rebound, get on the loose balls. And I thought we came out and did just that.”

In contrast, Dartmouth found itself short-handed on Friday night.

For the third straight game, the Big Green were without the services of Nina Minicozzi who touched up the Tigers with 12 points in Princeton’s 69-41 win against Dartmouth at Jadwin Gymnasium on January 17.

Cimino did get a career high performance tonight from freshman guard Jacalyn Myrthil, who tallied nine points off the bench in 25 minutes, her longest playing stint of the season.

But overall, the Big Green were overmatched at every position against an energetic Tigers team that crushed the home team on the boards, 40-23.

2. Ashley Chea is finding new ways to dazzle.

A season ago, Chea emerged as Princeton’s primary scoring threat, especially after St. Rose’s season ended early in the season with an ACL injury.

During the 2024-25 campaign, Chea led the Tigers in scoring as a sophomore, averaging 13.6 points per game and earning First Team All-Ivy honors.

This season in her junior year, Chea has struggled to find her shooting touch, especially over the past five weeks.

Tonight, Chea struggled again to find her range, missing all three of her shots from beyond the arc and scoring only six points despite playing a game high 30 minutes.

But as Chea’s scoring has tapered off, her ability to facilitate her teammates has risen to new heights.

On Friday night in Hanover, Chea dished a career high nine assists, including a series of highlight reel passes to her teammates.

In the second quarter, Chea made a steal at halfcourt and flung the ball from her knees over her head and down the court to Toby Nweke, who in turn made an acrobatic play to save the ball to St. Rose for an uncontested layup.

Moments later, after Princeton’s defense got a stop, Chea threaded a long, outlet pass to Lessig who converted the layup to become the tenth Tiger to score in the first half.

Chea’s most jaw-dropping play came in the fourth quarter with the game already out of hand.

After Charles grabbed a defensive board with eight minutes to play, Chea threw a no look, over the shoulder pass to a cutting Tall, who laid the ball in off the glass for two points.

Chea deserves a lot of credit for finding ways to contribute despite her scoring slump. By focusing on her passing talents, Chea is creating new ways to lead the Tigers to victory, and scoring style points in the process.

3. The Tigers should be relatively rested for an epic clash at Harvard Saturday night.

Princeton’s lopsided victory in Hanover allowed Berube to rest her starting five for most of the second half, which should help the Tigers cope with the rigors of a back-to-back matchup at Harvard Saturday night.

For the past two seasons, Princeton and Harvard matchups have produced some of the most nail-biting, epic outcomes in recent Ivy League hoops history.

The last two seasons, the Tigers have needed buzzer-beating jumpers from Ashley Chea to hold off Harvard at Jadwin Gym.

In the semifinals of last year’s Ivy League Tournament, Harvard needed a historic performance from Harmoni Turner to defeat the Tigers en route to the Crimson’s first ever Ivy Madness championship.

On Friday night, Harvard got past Penn, 60-46, to remain in sole possession of third place in the Ivy standings at 9-3.

But the Crimson needed 30-plus minutes of playing time from three of their key starters to finish the job, while Princeton leaned on its bench for most of the second half and rest its starters for Saturday’s high stakes showdown in Cambridge.

By roasting Dartmouth on Friday night, the Tigers are well-positioned to travel to Harvard for another titanic tilt with the Crimson in Princeton’s last road game of the regular season.