The Princeton Tigers women’s basketball team probably wishes that third quarters could be dropped from the NCAA Tournament.
For the second year in a row, the Tigers squandered a first-half lead in the Big Dance, losing on Wednesday night in the opening game of the 2025 NCAA Tournament to fellow No. 11 seed Iowa State, 68-63, in a play-in game at Purcell Pavilion on the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Ind.
Princeton’s corps of forwards is all smiles in a pregame huddle at the Ivy League Tournament in Providence, RI on Friday. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)
The Ivy League’s dream of a three-bid Ivy came to fruition on Sunday night when the final invitation to the Big Dance went to the Princeton Tigers.
“It’s awesome,” Princeton coach Carla Berube told reporters on Monday afternoon. “We have a email chain going with the whole Ivy League and head coaches and, yeah, I mean, we’re thrilled, but we’re not shocked or surprised, and we know just the level of basketball and how talented our student athletes are. And we’re going about it the right way with our nonconference schedules and how we have to build that up.”
Princeton, a No. 11 seed, will face off in a play-in game against Iowa State, also a No. 11 seed, in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET in South Bend, Ind. The winner will face No. 6 Michigan on Friday.
Here are three thoughts about Princeton’s bid and tomorrow’s matchup against the Iowa State Cyclones:
Harvard senior guard Harmoni Turner rises up for a jump shot over Princeton sophomore guard/forward Fadima Tall in semifinal action at the Ivy League Tournament at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I. Friday. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was Turner Time at the Pizz.
With an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament likely on the line, Ivy League Player of the Year Harmoni Turner erupted for 44-points and led No. 3-seeded Harvard to a 70-67 win over No. 2 Princeton in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament. The win advances Harvard to Saturday’s championship game against No. 1 Columbia, which defeated No. 4 Penn in Friday’s first semifinal matchup, 60-54.
Turner’s 44 points broke her own record for most points in a game by a Harvard player, set earlier in the season against Boston College, and shattered the record for an individual performance by a player, men’s or women’s, at the Ivy League Tournament.
The Ivy League announced its major women’s awards Tuesday, but we know this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Ivy Hoops Online’s 2024-25 All-Ivy Awards, as determined by IHO’s contributors prior to the release of the Ivy League’s awards:
Editor’s note: Here are Steve Silverman’s reactions to Ivy League All-Ivy awards for players and coaches for the 2024-25 women’s basketball season announced Tuesday. Ivy Hoops Online’s 2024-25 Men’s and Women’s All-Ivy Awards are soon to come.:
The Princeton women’s basketball team closed out the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a satisfying 67-53 win over Penn at the Palestra.
Here are three Tiger Takeaways from a triumph that gave Princeton 20 wins for a seventh consecutive season, tying a program record set during the Courtney Banghart era:
Fadima Tall knocked down a career-high 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting along with 10 rebounds and four steals Saturday as Princeton women’s basketball warmed up for the Ivy League Tournament with a 67-53 win at Penn.
Penn’s loss, combined with Brown’s win, means that we won’t know which team will be the fourth entrant for Ivy Madness at Brown’s Pizzitola Sports Center till the NCAA releases its updated NET rankings to determine the tiebreaker. As the winner of the regular-season conference title, Columbia will play Penn or Brown in the tournament’s first round Friday, and Princeton will face Harvard; the championship game comes Saturday.Penn’s NET ranking was No. 162 as of Saturday night – 22 slots ahead of Brown at No. 184.
Six days after having its 30-game home winning streak snapped by the Columbia Lions. Princeton women’s basketball hit the road and took out its frustrations on the Harvard Crimson, beating its host, 70-58, at Lavietes Pavilion Friday.
The win gave Princeton a two-game sweep of Harvard during the regular season, setting up a likely third clash in two weeks in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament.