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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)
The Ivy League Tournament kicks off on Friday night at Levien Gym with an exciting slate of semifinal games in the women’s competition.
The bracket this year has a familiar look as the same four teams from last year’s tournament will face off against each other in this year’s edition of Ivy Madness.
The No. 1 Princeton Tigers, co-champions during the regular season, will take on the No. 4 Penn Quakers, while the No. 2 and co-champion Columbia Lions will seek to avenge a disappointing loss in last year’s semifinal against the No. 3 Harvard Crimson.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these semifinal matchups:
Memories that last forever! @IvyLeague Regular Season Champions! #GetStops pic.twitter.com/3GYIAqRZXl
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 9, 2024
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.”
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:
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.
Tigers freshman guard Skye Belker, senior forward Ellie Mitchell and coach Carla Berube reflect on a 68-42 win for Princeton women’s basketball (22-4, 12-1 Ivy) over Dartmouth (7-18, 1-12) Saturday at Jadwin Gym:
Tigers coach Carla Berube, senior guard Chet Nweke and sophomore guard Madison St. Rose reflect on a 60-49 win for Princeton (21-4, 11-1 Ivy) over Harvard (15-10, 8-4) at Jadwin Gym Friday:
Is there such a thing as a good loss in college basketball? If you’re a top-25 team riding a 15-game winning streak, probably not.
And yet …
The Columbia women’s basketball team toppled No. 25 Princeton, 67-65, before a sold out and raucous crowd at Levien Gymnasium on Senior Day. The win pulled Columbia (19-5, 10-1 Ivy) into a tie with Princeton (20-4, 10-1) for first place in the Ivy League with three games remaining for each team in the regular season. Both teams have already clinched spots in the Ivy League tournament, which will be held in three weeks at Columbia.