Women's Basketball: Princeton comes home to resume chase for 3rd straight title

Coming off a resounding win at Penn on Saturday that extended its winning streak to four games, the women’s basketball team is looking to keep its momentum as it comes time to defend last year’s Ivy League championship.

After a high-flying start, Princeton’s season fell back to earth in December when the team suffered its first loss of the season to No. 20 Deleware and fell to tough opponents such as No. 21-ranked DePaul and No. 4-ranked Stanford. After the loss in Palo Alto, however, things have again been looking up for the Tigers. Since the beginning of winter break, they have stacked up four straight wins, all on the road, including the 83-48 rout of Penn that kicked off Ivy League play.

"I really love how this particular team defends, and the pride they have in making offense difficult for other teams," head coach Courtney Banghart said in an email. "I also like how far we’ve come on the offensive end, individually and collectively. We’re reading the game better, we’re more aggressive on the catch and with our screening, we’re just a better team on the offensive end then we were a month ago."

On Friday, Princeton will host Cornell (5-8), who has not yet faced an Ivy League opponent. The Big Red are led by guard Allyson DiMagno and forward Clare Fitzpatrick, who average 6.9 and 7.6 rebounds per game, respectively, and share an average of 10.8 points per game.

Despite these solid performers, Cornell will have its hands full with the Tigers, who lead the Ivy League in points per game and offensive rebounds and are second in field goal percentage and defensive rebounds. Junior forward Niveen Rasheed leads the league in rebounds per game with 8.9 and is second in the league in points per game and steals, a category which is led by her teammate, junior guard Lauren Polansky. Princeton has won the Ivy League for the last two years and has an excellent shot at a third straight.

Sunday, Columbia (2-11) will visit Jadwin Gymnasium for its Ivy League opener. The Lions are currently tied with Dartmouth for the worst record in the Ivy League and are averaging just 51.5 points per game.

"For this weekend, we’ll have to set the tempo with tons of ball pressure and disruptions defensively and an attack mentality on offense," Banghart said. "We’ll be prepared to play against a zone and to play the game at our pace."

Though Cornell and Columbia are not likely contenders for the Ivy League championship, the Tigers will have to put down several serious challengers in order to win for the third year in a row. Brown (9-4), Yale (8-6) and Harvard (7-6), all of which Princeton will face in its next two weekends of Ivy play, have winning records and will be anxious to stop a repeat.

Brown, though it finished at 10-18 last season, has the second-best record in the league to date and is on a six-game winning streak. The Bears lead the league in scoring defense, allowing just 55.2 points per game. Brown’s visit to Princeton on Feb. 3 should be the first major test for the Tigers in the Ivy League.

The next big contender is Yale, who has won its last three games and has the third best record in the league. The Bulldogs are second in the league in points per game with 65.9, but they are coming up on a tough two weeks in which they will face Brown twice and play Harvard in Cambridge. By the time Yale takes on Princeton for the first time on Feb. 4, a clearer picture of the fight for the championship may have emerged.

Harvard is currently only one win over .500, but the spirit of last year’s Crimson, which finished second in the league, is kept alive by guard Brogan Berry, who currently ranks among the Ivy League’s all-time Top 10 for assists and was recently named Ivy League Player of the Week for the second time this season.

"The Ivy League is a talented conference this year," Banghart said. "Last year, the collective conference RPI was a 28 out of 31 teams. Today, it’s 11. There are good teams in the top half, with varying styles and the target on our back is huge night after night."

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Princeton appears to be improving and gaining confidence, which, combined with the last two years’ titles, should make the Tigers the team to beat in the Ivy League this season.