Portland Pilots

Tiger Takeaways from Princeton women’s basketball’s 5-4 start amid big changes

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It’s been an up-and-down season so far for Princeton women’s basketball. With nine games in the books, the six-time-defending Ivy League champions have a mixed record of 5-4.  

Highlights of the season include a three-game sweep of Big East opponents DePaul, Villanova, and Seton Hall, a dominant win over in-state rival Rutgers, and a resume-building win over Big 5 foe Temple.

The lowlights include blowout losses at Quinnipiac and Portland, a disappointing finish at Duquesne, and a heartbreaking injury to the Tigers’ superstar team captain, Madison St. Rose.

Carla Berube’s club was picked to finish first again in the Ivy League’s preseason media poll, but the loss of senior leadership, a monumental injury and a brutal, road-heavy slate of opening games has created challenges, opportunities and an intriguing future.

Here are three Tiger Takeaways assessing where the Princeton women’s basketball team stands one-third of the way into the season:

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Princeton women’s basketball turns the ball over 29 times in 74-55 loss at Portland

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The Princeton women’s basketball team traveled 3,000 miles to face a Portland Pilots squad on Friday enjoying the best season in its history.  The result was a calamity for Princeton as the Tigers suffered their worst defeat in more than two years, falling to the Pilots, 74-55, at the Chiles Center.

The Tigers looked rusty and undisciplined after a 10-day layoff over the Thanksgiving holiday. Facing a relentless, trapping press, the Orange and Black coughed the ball up an astounding 29 times, wrecking any chance they had to notch a fourth consecutive road win.

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Princeton men’s basketball awakens, pounds Portland at the Myrtle Beach Invitational

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Princeton guard Xaivian Lee turns the corner on Portland guard Vukasin Masic in a consolation matchup at the Myrtle Beach Invitational at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. on Nov. 24, 2024. (Steve Silverman | Ivy Hoops Online)

CONWAY, S.C. – The Princeton men’s basketball team came alive on a bright Sunday morning in South Carolina to rout the University of Portland, 94-67, for seventh place at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

The win was a welcome relief for Princeton coach Mitch Henderson and his squad after the Tigers had dropped the two previous contests of the tournament to Wright State on Thursday night and Texas State on Friday night at the HBC Arena in Conway, S.C.

The Tigers had to set their alarm clocks for a consolation game that started at 10:30 a.m ET, but the early tip must have suited the three-time defending Ivy League champions (5-3), who exploded for 52 points in the first half and largely put the game away in the first 20 minutes.

Asked after the game what Princeton’s motivation was to win this game, Henderson dryly replied, “Seventh place is better than eighth place.  That’s what I told them.”

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