Ivy women’s hoops weekend update

Brown 81 vs Yale 71 (OT)

In Yale’s 77-63 win in New Haven last Friday, the Bulldogs were able to prevent the Bears from getting into its fast paced offensive flow.  At the start of this week’s return match in Providence, Brown (13-2; 1-1 Ivy) was determined not to let that happen again.  However, they ended up forcing the pace to go a bit too fast and both teams struggled over the first 20 minutes.  The Bears managed to take a four-point lead into the locker room, but they shot 36 percent overall, 40 percent from two and 27 percent from three, as well as committing 10 turnovers. Yale (8-7; 1-1 Ivy), meanwhile, shot 27 percent overall, 33 percent from two and 29 percent from three.

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Thoughts on Ivy League openers – women’s basketball

Princeton 70 at Penn 55

The Princeton Tigers improve to 11-3 overall and, more importantly, 1-0 in the Ivy League, as they beat the two time defending champion Penn Quakers (6-5, 0-1 Ivy) for the first time in over 1,000 days.  The Orange & Black looked as if they would run away from the Red & Blue when they opened up a 10-point lead with 3:36 left in the first half, but Penn went on a 7-0 run to go into the break down 31-28.  

In the second half, the Tigers upped the defensive effort, frustrating the Quakers time and time again as they created another 10-point lead with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter.  Unlike the first half, Princeton would not let Penn shift the game’s momentum and cruised to a 15-point victory on their rival’s home court.

Some quick thoughts:

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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.

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Ivy women’s week in review – Dec. 16, 2017

1. Princeton (6-3)

Win – at Quinnipiac, 60-46

Loss – at Rutgers, 70-50

In the second of a six game road trip, the Tigers visited Quinnipiac on Saturday afternoon and soundly defeated a Bobcat team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen in last year’s NCAA Tournament.  Despite falling behind by six and not scoring a point in the first 5:21 of the game, Princeton rallied to take a three point lead after the first quarter.  Down 6 heading into the final frame, the Bobcats used a 9-2 run to take a one point lead with 7:13 to go.  The Orange & Black responded by outscoring Quinnipiac 17-2 the rest of the way for the victory.  Bella Alarie and Leslie Robinson each posted 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way.  The Tigers won the game with strong defense, limiting the Bobcats to 19 percent three-point shooting and 36 percent two-point shooting while outrebounding them by 11 percent.

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Ivy women’s basketball week in review

1. Princeton (5-2)

Win – vs Delaware, 78-60
Win – at Lafayette, 53-45

After a close loss to #24 Villanova, the Tigers bounced back with two victories this week.  Tia Weledji had 22 points to lead Princeton over Delaware.  The Blue Hens kept within two early in the second quarter, but a 19-5 run to close out the frame gave the Tigers a 16-point halftime advantage.  Delaware cut the lead to seven late in the third quarter, but that would be as close as they would get.  In addition to Weledji’s career night, Carlie Littlefield scored 15 points and Leslie Robinson had a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds).

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Ivy women’s basketball week in review

1. Princeton (2-1)

Win – at Seton Hall, 85-83
Loss – vs Georgia Tech, 67-56

Bella Alarie had double-doubles in both games, this week, and is leading the Tigers with 15.3 points and 10.3 boards a game.  Tia Weledji is averaging 14.7 points a contest and had her first career double-double against the Pirates.  Carlie Littlefield has been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the first two weeks of the season.  Starting wing Sydney Jordan left the Seton Hall game after four minutes with an injury and did not play against Georgia Tech.  Her absence from the lineup will, most likely, increase the playing time for the highly rated first-year, Abby Meyers.

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Ancient Eight to watch

While the Ivy League has many big name players, some who have even attracted the attention of the NBA and USA Basketball, there are other important athletes who will play key roles for their respective teams throughout the 2016-17 campaign.  Most IHO readers are familiar with the most notable players from A(iken) to Z(immerman).  With a few games in the book, IHO wanted to highlight a few of the the league’s under the radar players.  Some will be helpful in the push for a spot in the Ivy Tournament, while others will be laying the foundation for future glory.  All, hopefully, will make a special contribution to this season.

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Ivy women’s basketball week in review

1.  Princeton (1-0)

Princeton opened up the season with a 72-52 victory over George Washington at Jadwin Gym on Friday night.  After jumping out to a 10-point lead in the 1st quarter, the Colonials got the lead down to 3 at the half.  The Tigers started the second half on a 13-0 run and outscored GW by 18 in the 3rd quarter to pull away.  Coach Courtney Banghart started first-year Carlie Littlefield at the point, who responded with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 38 minutes.  Tia Weledji led four Tigers in double digits with 18 points, while Leslie Robinson had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  The Orange and Black were typically strong on defense, allowing only 3 three-pointers and 33% overall shooting, while holding a 10% rebounding advantage on both sides of the ball.

Next Games: 11/16 at Seton Hall 7 pm (Pirate Sports Network); 11/19 vs Georgia Tech 1 pm (ILN, ESPN3)

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