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The Princeton women’s basketball team has opened the 2024-25 season with a thud.
The Tigers lost on the road to the Duquesne Dukes, 76-66, at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh Monday.
Last season, the Tigers also opened their season against the Dukes but secured a hard-fought victory at home, 65-57. The Dukes got their revenge tonight, outscoring a tired Tigers squad 20-4 in the fourth quarter.
Princeton women’s basketball coach Carla Berube talks about putting the Tigers’ 2024 NCAA Tournament loss behind the program, where she expects leadership to come from on this year’s team, previews Monday’s season opener at Duquesne, highlights what to look for from her squad’s newcomers, explains why she’ll have to be patient this season, and much more in an in-depth conversation with Ivy Hoops Online contributor Steve Silverman:
As the 2024-25 season quickly approaches, the Ivy League hosted its annual women’s basketball Media Day on Thursday. The three-hour event, hosted by Lance Medow, can be viewed on the conference’s YouTube channel.
Prior to the event, the league announced the results of its preseason poll.
Princeton, which has claimed the Ancient Eight title for the last six years, was picked first with 122 out of a possible 128 points and 10 first-place votes. Columbia, which has tied for the top spot in each of the last two seasons, came in second with 110 points and five first-place votes.
Harvard, which has finished the last two years in third placed, was tabbed for third in 2025, earning 101 points and one first-place spot.
Penn, the final participant in last year’s Ivy tournament, was picked fourth with 75 votes, while Brown, which finished last year tied with Penn for fourth, was four points back in fifth place.
Sixth place went to Yale, which was as high as third place in 2022, with 48 votes.
While Cornell and Dartmouth ended last season tied for seventh place, the Big Red got the nod for seventh in this year’s poll with 30 points and the Big Green were eighth with 19 points.
Below are highlights from this year’s virtual Media Day:
The Ivy League hosted media day on Tuesday for the upcoming men’s basketball season.
Here’s one key impression from interviews with players and coaches from each of the eight Ancient Eight programs:
With the non-conference schedule set to begin in less than three weeks, the Ivy League held its annual Media Day on Tuesday afternoon. The three-hour event, hosted by Lance Medow, featured coaches and players from each of the eight programs.
Fans can check out the recording on the conference’s YouTube channel.
Below are some highlights:
The Yale women finished last season at 8-19 and 5-9 in the Ivy League. Gone from last year are leading scorer and assist leader Jenna Clark, leading rebounder Nyla McGill and third-leading scorer Brenna McDonald. Good news or bad news?
Well, Ivy media has pegged Yale as a sixth-place finisher.
Yale third-year coach Dalila Eshe says her team will have improved “culture” and be “incredibly athletic, running a high-octane offense.” She defines culture as “buying into the program and [being] like-minded.”
Ivy men’s media day was held virtually Tuesday. Veteran Yale coach James Jones was last to speak and in attendance for the Bulldogs with him were seniors Bez Mbeng and John Poulakidas.
Yale is coming off of an Ivy Madness title and a first-round upset of heavily favored Auburn last March. The Bulldogs have been slated by the Ivy media to finish second in league behind Princeton.
Jones noted that his team is “excited” that the season will start in three weeks and is anxious to play against competition.
Media expectations for Penn basketball are the lowest they’ve been since coach Steve Donahue’s first season on campus in 2015. The Quakers were tabbed to finish seventh in the Ivy League, ahead of only Dartmouth.
Predictive analytics websites have a slightly rosier outlook and project Penn to be in the mix for a third or fourth-place finish, which would be good enough to earn a trip to Ivy Madness in Providence.
With the season just three weeks away, Ivy Hoops Online spoke with Donahue to take a deep dive into how the Quakers will operate with seven new players on the roster.
Both questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length:
Check out part 1 of the conversation here.
Media expectations for Penn basketball are the lowest they’ve been since coach Steve Donahue’s first season on campus in 2015. The Quakers were tabbed to finish seventh in the Ivy League, ahead of only Dartmouth.
Predictive analytics websites have a slightly rosier outlook and project Penn to be in the mix for a third or fourth-place finish, which would be good enough to earn a trip to Ivy Madness in Providence.
With the season just three weeks away, Ivy Hoops Online spoke with Donahue to take a deep dive into how the Quakers will operate with seven new players on the roster.
Both questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length. Check out part 2 of the conversation here.