Women’s basketball sweeps Darmouth and Harvard on weekend roadtrip

Women’s basketball (15–1, 3–0 Ivy League) posted wins over Dartmouth (7–10, 1–3 Ivy) and Harvard (11–6, 2–2 Ivy) over the weekend to sweep the team’s first Ivy League road trip of the season.

The Tigers came into Leede Arena in Hanover on Friday night having not played since their league-opening win over the Pennsylvania Quakers on Jan. 11. In the first quarter, Princeton struggled to shake off the cobwebs. Dartmouth converted six field goals in the first 10 minutes and held a 14–8 lead late in the period.

But the game’s momentum began to shift in Princeton’s favor by the end of the quarter. The Tigers scored the final five points of the first stanza, highlighted by sophomore guard Grace Stone’s buzzer-beating three-pointer that brought Princeton within one point of Dartmouth after 10 minutes of play.

The Tigers took their first lead of the game midway through the second quarter. Senior forward Bella Alarie scored five straight points and converted a three-pointer to put Princeton in front, 21–19.

The rest of the way, Princeton played lock-down defense. In the final 3:58 of the first half, Dartmouth did not score a single point. The Tigers entered the break leading 31–21, and by the end of the third quarter, Princeton had extended its lead to 22 points. Dartmouth had little chance of a comeback, ultimately tallying just 13 points in the second half.

The Tigers posted a 66–34 win; Alarie led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds.

Princeton then traveled to Cambridge, Mass. for a Saturday night date with the Harvard Crimson at Lavietes Pavilion.

Alarie, sophomore guard Julia Cunningham, and junior guard Carlie Littlefield each scored in double figures to pace the Tigers. The trio led Princeton on a 10–0 run to close out the first quarter, giving the Tigers a 17–9 lead after the first ten minutes.

Princeton’s offense continued to fire on all cylinders. The lead ballooned to 14 points with three minutes to play in the first half, but a three-pointer from Alarie was necessary to maintain the Tigers’ 10-point lead going into halftime.

In the second half, Princeton continued to work on both ends of the floor. The Tigers out-rebounded the Crimson 38–23, and Littlefield contributed a team-high of four forced steals. Early in the fourth quarter, Princeton used a 11–3 run to open up a 22–point advantage. The Tigers would take down the Crimson, 60–46.

Princeton is now riding an 11-game win streak. It is the fourth time in six years that the team has produced a streak of at least 10 games.

The team sits at 15–1 overall, with the only loss having come in an OT thriller at No.18 Iowa in November. Princeton was also the top unranked vote-getter in the most recent AP Poll. However, the Tigers are currently ranked 19th by the NCAA’s RPI tool, which evaluates a team’s win/loss record and strength of schedule.

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Princeton now sits atop the Ivy League standings, alongside Yale (14–3, 4–0 Ivy League). The Tigers will return to Jadwin Gymnasium on Friday night for a 6 p.m. tip-off against Cornell (9–7, 2–2 Ivy).