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Off the Bench: Dutch Dowdell of Harvard men’s basketball

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Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.

Basketball has taken Dutch Dowdell ’29 around the world, introduced him to inspirational leaders from every sector, and taught him unforgettable life lessons. Dowdell spoke to IHO as his junior year at Harvard was beginning:

Dutch Dowdell takes aim at the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal in April 2023. (photo courtesy of Dutch Dowdell)

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Off the Bench: Hilke Feldrappe of Columbia women’s basketball

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Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen.

From Berlin to Columbia, Missouri and now at Columbia and Barnard in the Big Apple, Hilke Feldrappe ’27  considers herself very lucky to have generally found what she was looking for. As her senior year is set in motion, she’s dreaming big about basketball, architecture and sustainability — and whatever will come next.

Hilke Feldrappe plays for the German National Team at EuroBasket 2025. (photo courtesy of Hilke Feldrappe)

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Off the Bench: Izzy Wesley of Brown women’s basketball

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Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents the latest edition of our Off the Bench series that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen. 

Izzy Wesley ‘29, a rising sophomore on the Brown women’s basketball team, is the second twin we have featured in this series. An innate teammate and ultimate family person, she brings “gioia di vivere” to the Bears, and she is channeling it in all the ways that make a team better:

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Off the Bench: Mary Hollensteiner of Harvard women’s basketball

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Ivy League hoopsters are Division I athletes on the court and exceptionally accomplished and eclectic humans off it. Ivy Hoops Online presents a new series, Off the Bench, that takes fans inside the stories that you might not otherwise know from the stands or through your screen. 

Next up is Mary Hollensteiner ’27, a rising Harvard women’s basketball senior from Bethesda, Md. A psychology major with a minor in economics and a guard for the Crimson, Hollensteiner spoke with us as she prepared for a summer internship as a analyst at Hoffman & Associates in Washington, D.C. Hollensteiner reflects on legacy, leadership and laughter as the daughter of a former Harvard men’s basketball player and as a team leader making her own way at Lavietes Pavilion and beyond:

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No. 4 Columbia women’s basketball smothers No. 3 Wisconsin to punch WBIT title game ticket

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In like a lamb, out like a Lion. Right?

That’s how March has played out for Columbia women’s basketball. After two losses to Harvard, including a nail-biter in the Ivy League semifinal, the Lions entered the WBIT as a team on a mission.

Steamrolling St. John’s and North Dakota State and escaping against California, they earned their way to the semifinal in Wichita, Kan.

In their final game of March, the Lions continued their postseason winning ways. Never trailing, Columbia suffocated Wisconsin defensively while doing just enough offensively to earn a comfortable win and punch their ticket to the WBIT final by a score of 67-50.

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Late collapse sinks Harvard women’s basketball at Wisconsin, Columbia triumphs at Cal in WBIT quarterfinals

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With Harvard up 56-49 with 39 seconds left in regulation, a quarterfinal WBIT win looked inevitable and many Wisconsin fans could be seen heading to the exit of the Kohl Center.

The Badgers, though, had faith in themselves, hitting big shots and forcing multiple Crimson turnovers to improbably send the game into overtime.

Wisconsin held onto a one-point lead with three seconds left on the scoreboard when 5-foot-2 senior guard Ronnie Porter was called for a foul against Harvard’s Abigail Wright that would send the junior forward to the line for two free throws.

Given an extra challenge call in overtime, the Badgers’ coaching staff asked for a review and the call was ultimately reversed, sending the home team and their fans into a frenzy.

After graduate guard Destiny Howell sank two free throws, Harvard junior guard Karlee White had one last chance to send the game into double overtime, but her three-pointer from the top of the key hit high off the backboard and the Crimson season ended with a 64-61 defeat.

Had Harvard won, it would have faced Columbia in a WBIT semifinal matchup after the Lions, as a No. 4 seed, topped No. 3 California on the road, 74-68, after the Harvard-Wisconsin game Thursday night.

Columbia held off the Golden Bears by finishing the game on an 8-2 run in the final 2:06 after the hosts pulled ahead at 67-66, a run strung together with key shots from junior guard Riley Weiss and senior guard/forward Perri Page. Those two combined to deliver 46 of Columbia’s 74 points, setting up the Lions to face Wisconsin in a semifinal showdown in Wichita, Kan. Monday at a time to be determined.

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Columbia and Harvard women’s basketball cruise over St. John’s, Navy in WBIT opening round

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After two straight losses to Harvard women’s basketball derailed Columbia from regular and postseason Ivy League titles, senior guard Perri Page made her feelings known moments after being knocked out of the Ivy League Tournament.

“We all got to be bought in and go all into whatever we do,” the First Team All-Ivy and Defensive Player of the Year told assembled media last Friday night. “We are winning the WBIT. I can tell you that right now.”

Page and her teammates put the rest of the tournament on notice Thursday night, jumping out to a quick lead and cruising to a 74-26 rout of St. John’s at Levien Gymnasium.

The opening-round win improves the No. 4-seeded Lions record to 21-8 (11-4 Ivy League) on the season and a game on the road at North Dakota State, the No. 1 seed in their quadrant, on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

For its part, Harvard notched a comfortable WBIT opening-round home win of its own simultaneously Thursday night, dispatching Navy, 73-52. The win for the Crimson (19-11, 10-4) over the Midshipmen (22-9, 15-2 Patriot) set the victors up for a second-round matchup hosting Eastern Kentucky at a time to be determined Sunday.

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AP No. 23 Princeton women’s basketball draws NCAA Tournament No. 9 seed, will face No. 8 Oklahoma State

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Princeton women’s basketball learned Sunday night it has drawn a No. 9 seed and will face No. 8 Oklahoma State Saturday in Los Angeles in the Tigers’ seventh straight NCAA Tournament berth dating back to 2018.

Princeton and Oklahoma State will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN2.

The Associated Press-ranked No. 23 Tigers will play the AP-unranked Cowgirls in the UCLA quad and would play the host No. 1-seed Bruins if the latter win their Round of 64 game against No. 16-seed California Baptist.

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No. 1 Princeton women’s basketball holds off No. 3 Harvard, 63-53, to secure NCAA Tournament berth

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Princeton women’s basketball celebrates winning the Ivy League Tournament at Newman Arena on March 14, 2026. (Steve Silverman/Ivy Hoops Online)

So much for the adage that it’s hard to beat a team three times in the same season.

The No. 1-seeded Princeton women’s basketball team defeated No. 3 Harvard in the Ivy League Tournament final on Saturday night, 63-53, completing a three-game season sweep of the Crimson and earning the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

On Friday night, the Tigers vanquished Brown, also for a third time in 2026, in the opening semifinal of the Ivy League Tournament.

Although the Tigers led for 94% of the Saturday night’s championship game and never trailed after the first quarter, the win over Harvard didn’t come easily.

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Quakeaways from No. 3 Penn men’s basketball defeating No. 2 Harvard to advance to Ivy League Tournament final

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ITHACA, N.Y. — Penn men’s basketball is 40 minutes away from its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in eight years after outlasting Harvard in a 62-60 overtime thriller to advance to the Ivy League Tournament final.

Sophomore point guard AJ Levine — more on him later — played the hero after he blew by Harvard sophomore guard Ben Eisendrath off the dribble for a scoop layup with 6.1 seconds to play in the extra session.

With the Crimson in scramble mode, Levine got a hand in Harvard guard Tey Barbour’s face as the sniper put up a three-point attempt to win the game.

Barbour’s shot was off line to the right and a wild celebration ensued.

The Quakers (17-11) are now in a position that few expected them to be in back in November. What did we learn about this team as it preps for an empty-the-tank game against Yale for a conference tournament championship?

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