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:
Kaitlyn Chen
Reporter’s Notebook: Ivy Madness day one
NEW YORK – Welcome to Ivy Madness VI!
For the first time, the Ivy League Tournament visits New York City, home to the largest collection of Ancient Eight alumni and Levien Gymnasium. The 2,700-seat arena, situated on the heart of the Columbia campus, is the fourth smallest venue in the conference and fans are right on top of the action.
When packed, which it often has been for the 2023 and 2024 regular season championship women’s team, it can get incredibly loud and cause problems for opposing players. Fortunately for league, fans and ESPN, Levien will be packed. As of Thursday evening, the Saturday women’s final is sold out, as well as the Saturday men’s semifinals and Sunday men’s final.
There are a small number of tickets remaining for the second women’s semifinal, featuring No. 2 Columbia and No. 3 Harvard, as well as a larger number of tickets for the opening game, which pits No. 1 Princeton against long-time rival No. 4 Penn.
Over the next several days, Ivy Hoops Online will be in Morningside Heights (and watching the world-wide leader) to bring you all the action. With lots of great coverage from George Clark, Steve Silverman, Palestra Pete and Richard Kent, I’ll be around to fill in the spaces and scarf down as many snacks as possible.
Ivy League Tournament: Women’s press conference highlights
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)
It’s déjà vu all over again on women’s side as Ivy Madness kicks off in New York City
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:
WATCH: Q&A with Princeton women’s basketball coach Carla Berube
In an in-depth interview with Ivy Hoops Online contributor Steve Silverman Tuesday ahead of this weekend’s Ivy League Tournament, Princeton women’s basketball coach Carla Berube talks about the challenge of beating tournament opponent Penn three times in one season, whether the team has a chip on its shoulder, how the team prepares for multiple potential tourney opponents and much more:
Princeton women’s basketball beats Penn to secure sixth straight Ivy League title
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.”
A two-banner weekend could be in store for Princeton basketball
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:
LISTEN: Princeton women’s basketball press conference after 68-42 win over Dartmouth
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:
Princeton women’s basketball rallies in the second half to beat Harvard, 60-49
The Princeton women’s basketball team rebounded from its first setback of the Ivy League season to defeat Harvard, 60-49, in the first of back-to-back games this weekend at Jadwin Gymnasium.
The Tigers (21-4, 11-1 Ivy) needed a second half rally to shake off the Crimson, who led 35-30 after Princeton played one of its worst halves of basketball this season.