Chet Nweke

Tiger Takeaways from Princeton women’s basketball’s 5-4 start amid big changes

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It’s been an up-and-down season so far for Princeton women’s basketball. With nine games in the books, the six-time-defending Ivy League champions have a mixed record of 5-4.  

Highlights of the season include a three-game sweep of Big East opponents DePaul, Villanova, and Seton Hall, a dominant win over in-state rival Rutgers, and a resume-building win over Big 5 foe Temple.

The lowlights include blowout losses at Quinnipiac and Portland, a disappointing finish at Duquesne, and a heartbreaking injury to the Tigers’ superstar team captain, Madison St. Rose.

Carla Berube’s club was picked to finish first again in the Ivy League’s preseason media poll, but the loss of senior leadership, a monumental injury and a brutal, road-heavy slate of opening games has created challenges, opportunities and an intriguing future.

Here are three Tiger Takeaways assessing where the Princeton women’s basketball team stands one-third of the way into the season:

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Princeton women’s basketball turns the ball over 29 times in 74-55 loss at Portland

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The Princeton women’s basketball team traveled 3,000 miles to face a Portland Pilots squad on Friday enjoying the best season in its history.  The result was a calamity for Princeton as the Tigers suffered their worst defeat in more than two years, falling to the Pilots, 74-55, at the Chiles Center.

The Tigers looked rusty and undisciplined after a 10-day layoff over the Thanksgiving holiday. Facing a relentless, trapping press, the Orange and Black coughed the ball up an astounding 29 times, wrecking any chance they had to notch a fourth consecutive road win.

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Ivy women’s basketball Media Day highlights

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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:

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No. 9 Princeton women’s basketball bows to No. 8 West Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament

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No. 9 Princeton and No. 8 West Virginia tip off in their NCAA Tournament opening-round matchup Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. (Photo by Steve Silverman)

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.

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How No. 1 Princeton women’s basketball held on to defeat No. 4 Penn, 59-54, in Ivy League Tournament semifinal

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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.

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No. 4 Penn women’s basketball showed how to bake – but not quite pull off – an upset in 59-54 loss to No. 1 Princeton

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NEW YORK – Going into the kickoff for Ivy Madness, it seemed clear what it would take for the Penn women to upset top-ranked Princeton:

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Ivy League Tournament: Women’s press conference highlights

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If it’s not on the MTA map, it should be (Photo: Rob Browne)

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)

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Princeton women’s basketball beats Penn to secure sixth straight Ivy League title

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The Princeton women’s basketball team celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Jadwin Gymnasium by beating the Penn Quakers, 72-55, for a sixth straight Ivy League regular season title. 

It was a triumphant day for Princeton’s spectacular troika of seniors:  Kaitlyn Chen, Ellie Mitchell and Chet Nweke.  Chen finished the game with 19 points on 9-for-13 shooting and 11 assists, a career high for the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year.  Asked by the ESPN+ broadcast crew to reflect on having played her final game at Jadwin Gym, Chen said,  “I honestly don’t think it’s hit me yet.  It just sort of felt like another game.  We had a job to do and we did it.”

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A two-banner weekend could be in store for Princeton basketball

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Every basketball season at Princeton begins with the same goal: Win an Ivy League championship.  This weekend, both the men’s and women’s programs have an opportunity to accomplish their primary mission by winning at least a share of the regular season Ivy League title.  All they have to do is close out the regular season with a win over their most enduring rival, the Penn Quakers.

With championships on the line for both Princeton teams, let’s take a look at the prospects for each program winning a new banner and earning the right to cut down the nets on Saturday:

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Princeton women’s basketball dismisses Dartmouth, 68-42, to complete weekend Ivy sweep

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It was virtually a foregone conclusion that the Princeton women’s basketball team would beat the last-place Dartmouth Big Green  on the second leg of a back-to-back weekend on Saturday afternoon at Jadwin Gymnasium.  

The only real questions coming into this contest were how many points Princeton would win by and whether the Tigers could use the game to regain its swagger.  

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