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After a month-long search, Cornell athletic director Nicki Moore announced the hiring of Emily Garner as the new women’s basketball head coach on Thursday afternoon.
Garner, who becomes the eighth head coach in Big Red history, arrives in Ithaca after leading Trinity College to a 124-55 record over the last eight seasons, including a 96-35 mark over the last five years.
It’s been more than a day since the No. 9 Princeton women’s basketball team lost its first-round game in the NCAA Tournament to No. 8 West Virginia, 63-53. yet the reality of the Tigers’ season coming to an end hasn’t completely set in for your faithful Ivy Hoops Online correspondent.
A few thoughts and onsite reports from the day after round 1 at the Iowa City pod of the Big Dance:
IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 9 Princeton women’s basketball team ran into a buzzsaw in the first round of the 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 8 West Virginia, 63-53, Saturday in Iowa City.
The loss ended an outstanding season for Princeton and marked the close of an era for a historic triumvirate of senior co-captains–Kailtyn Chen, Ellie Mitchell, and Chet Nweke–who led the program to new heights during their sensational careers at Old Nassau.
The Tigers (25-5, 15-1 Ivy) came into this contest against the Mountaineers (25-7, Big 12 13-7) filled with confidence and high hopes. And it first, it looked as though those hopes might be vindicated.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – As the curtain rises on first-round games from Iowa City in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, all eyes will focus on Caitlin Clark and her No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes. Clark has ignited an explosion of interest in women’s college basketball with her electrifying shooting and record-breaking scoring.
But there are three other teams competing in the Iowa City pod this weekend, including the No. 9 Princeton women’s basketball team (25-4, 15-1 Ivy), which begins play in No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers (24-7, 13-7 Big 12).
Let’s take an in-depth look at how these two teams from vastly different places in the women’s college basketball landscape match up against each other:
Following Princeton’s victory over Columbia in Saturday night’s Ivy League championship, the thought of two conference teams making into the field of 68 seemed improbable. However, Sunday night’s selection show provided a pleasant surprise for everyone connected to the Ancient Eight, with the announcement of an automatic qualifier spot for the Tigers and an at-large bid for the Lions.
This year’s decision marks the second time the Ivies have sent two teams to the Big Dance, with Princeton claiming the second bid and Penn taking the automatic spot in 2016.
Two down, one to go.
Princeton women’s basketball added an exclamation point to its already triumphant Ivy League season Saturday by soundly defeating the Columbia Lions, 75-58, for its fifth consecutive Ivy League Tournament championship.
NEW YORK – Even though the Columbia women were the No. 2 seed for the 2024 Ivy League Tournament, the Lions felt everything was going their way as team continued its quest for its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately for the team and Light Blue fans, No. 1 Princeton used a strong inside game to cruise to a 75-58 victory and secure its five straight conference postseason title.
Columbia coach Megan Griffith’s crew graduated seven players, including three starters, from last year’s Ivy League regular season champion, and still captured its second straight league title.
While last year’s squad buckled just enough from the end-of-season pressure, including an overtime win to close out the season against lower division Cornell and an overtime loss to Harvard in the Ivy tournament semifinal, to lose out on a chance to get to March Madness, this team seemed to embrace the challenges.
First, Columbia beat Princeton at Levien by two on Feb. 24. Second, the Lions ran Cornell out of Newman Arena by 36 on the last day of the season. Third, they took down Harvard in a two-point win, which was not as close as the score would indicate, in the Ivy semifinal.
After the Tigers were taken to the wire by No. 4 Penn in Friday’s first semifinal, Columbia, buoyed by its passionate fanbase and home surroundings, appeared to be the slight favorite in the battle for Ancient Eight supremacy.
Another great day in the books at Columbia University and Levien Gymnasium.
Four good press conferences, two very good semifinal games and lots of tasty food (including pizza!) in the media room. It’s really hard to beat a day like that.
Some things of note from an Ivy hoops Friday:
NEW YORK – The No. 1 Princeton women’s basketball team withstood a furious rally by the No. 4 Penn Quakers on Friday evening to advance to the championship game of the Ivy League Tournament in a 59-54 victory.
The Tigers entered the contest with an 11-game winning streak against their rivals from Philadelphia. The 12th win was anything but easy. The Tigers were led by sophomore Madison St. Rose, who tallied 19 points, all but three of them coming in the second half.
NEW YORK – The opening day of the Ivy League Tournament brought the four women’s teams to Levien Gymnasium on the campus of Columbia University.
Below are highlights of the press conferences and links to the videos. (Check out the game previews from Steve Silverman)