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Another sluggish start finally got the best of No. 25 Princeton women’s basketball, which dropped a nail-biter to Rhode Island, 60-58, at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. Sunday.
Coming off a thrilling, double-overtime win over Seton Hall on Wednesday night, the Tigers were due for a letdown against a Rhode Island squad that has dueled the Tigers intensely over the past three seasons.
Playing their first game since garnering a top-25 ranking in the Associated Press poll, Princeton women’s basketball gutted its way to a win over Seton Hall, 75-71, in double overtime at Jadwin Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
The Tigers were led by senior co-captain Kaitlyn Chen, who tallied 21 hard-earned points on 4-for-11 shooting. However, the real hero for the Tigers was freshman sensation Skye Belker who scored 18 points and sank the game-winning jumper with 37 seconds to go in the second overtime. The native of Los Angeles was named the Player of the Game by the ESPN+ broadcast crew, which included former Tigers star player Julia Cunningham. Making her broadcasting debut, Cunningham did a remarkably good job of not betraying her pro-Princeton sympathies while providing interesting insights into what it’s like to play for Princeton coach Carla Berube.
In a battle for New Jersey supremacy, it was unclear whether this contest was a basketball game or a turnover festival. Perhaps it was the approach of the holiday season that inspired both teams to combine for 52 giveaways. Seton Hall was the more generous squad, turning the ball over 28 times compared with Princeton’s 24.
The Princeton women’s basketball team split a pair of Thanksgiving weekend contests against two nationally ranked opponents from power conferences at the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida.
Playing on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in coach Carla Berube’s career, the Tigers dominated No. 22 Oklahoma, 77-63, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Then, on Saturday morning, the Tigers fell prey to a hot-shooting No. 19 Indiana Hoosiers squad, 72-63.
The Princeton women’s basketball team nearly pulled off an upset for the ages as the Tigers fell on Friday afternoon, 77-74, to the No. 3 UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. It was Princeton’s first loss of the season.
Five days earlier, the Tigers had visited Middle Tennessee State and ended the Blue Raiders’ 49-game homecourt winning streak. On Friday afternoon, in the first game of a two-game West Coast swing, the Tigers entered the Bruins’ den at Pauley Pavilion in hunt of another statement win.
They almost got it.
In winning its season opener at home against Duquesne, Princeton women’s basketball witnessed the blossoming of Madison St. Rose as a new superstar for the Orange and Black.
It was time for another coming-out party Sunday, this time by rookies Skye Belker and Ashley Chea, in a 65-60 comeback win to remember at Middle Tennessee State.
Anyone thinking this might be the year to topple the Princeton women’s basketball team from its perch atop the Ivy League standings received a rude but familiar awakening on Monday night when yet another phenom took center stage in the Tigers’ season opener against the Duquesne Dukes. Princeton won a seesaw affair, 65-57, at Jadwin Gym, powered by sophomore sensation Madison St. Rose’s career-high 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting.
It was déjà vu all over again for Princeton. A year ago, the Tigers were coming off another successful campaign having won a second straight Ivy League title and toppled a power-five opponent – Kentucky – in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Although the Tigers were considered a favorite to repeat, there were questions about who could fill the very large shoes of graduated senior Abby Meyers, who had led the team in scoring and was voted Ivy League Player of the Year.
Ivy Hoops Online caught up with Princeton women’s coach Carla Berube for an in-depth interview:
FINAL: Utah 63, Princeton 56
A wonderful season featuring 24 wins, an Ivy League title and Ivy Tournament crown comes to an end in the NCAA Round of 32. #GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/ig2EGL62x8
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 20, 2023
The No. 10 Princeton women’s basketball team ran out of steam against No. 2 Utah, which beat the Tigers Sunday night, 63-56, in a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
The loss brought an end to another outstanding and history-making season for the Princeton women, who finished the season 24-6. By winning their first-round contest against No. 7 North Carolina State on Friday, the Tigers became the first program in Ivy League history to win games in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
One of the greatest shots in Princeton Basketball history.
Relive the call of @grace_stone10’s game-winning three-pointer! #GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/HLPLMZNnSv
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 18, 2023
The No. 10 Princeton women’s basketball team made history for the university and the Ivy League Friday night, storming back from the brink of elimination to sink No. 7 North Carolina State, 64-63, in a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
With the stunning come-from-behind win, Princeton became the first Ivy League women’s program to win a game in back-to-back NCAA tournaments. Princeton also became the first Ivy school in history to win games in both the men’s and women’s brackets in the same year.
Senior guard Grace Stone nailed a clutch corner three with 4.7 seconds left to complete a 9-0 run to close out the game, but not before Madison St. Rose, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, forced a fumble on NC State’s final possession to seal the win.
The Tigers found a way to triumph despite trailing most of the game against a larger and very talented Wolfpack quintet. Kaitlyn Chen, the Ivy Player of the Year, and Stone each led the Tigers with 22 points. First-team All Ivy senior guard Julia Cunningham added 14 for the Tigers, who have now won 16 games in a row.
A celebration that means everything. #GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/5stA5wzsTE
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 12, 2023
Princeton overtook Harvard, 54-48, at Jadwin Gym Saturday to claim its fourth straight Ivy League Tournament final. Our George “Toothless Tiger” Clark recaps the action: