Women’s basketball (19–5 overall, 10–2 Ivy League) will host Harvard (15–9, 8–4) at Jadwin Gymnasium in their final regular season home game this Friday, Feb. 24. Prior to tip-off, the team will celebrate senior night and honor their five graduating members.
Coming off a big win against Brown, the Tigers secured their spot in the 2023 Ivy League Tournament this March. Currently tied for first place in the Ivy League with Columbia (21–4, 10–2), Princeton will look to defeat the Harvard Crimson, who currently stand in second place with Penn (16–9, 8–4). In Harvard and Princeton’s last meeting on Dec. 31, the Crimson emerged victorious, defeating the Tigers 67–59 and destroying their 42-game Ivy win-streak.
Staff sports writer Isabel Rodrigues ’23 and sports contributor Allison Ha ’25 offered their picks for this weekend’s contests.
Women’s basketball vs. Harvard
Princeton 70, Harvard 58 - Isabel Rodrigues, Senior Staff Writer
Look, they proved me wrong last time. After a convincing 74–56 win over Columbia, and a pair of equally dominant wins over Brown and Yale last weekend, this is Princeton's game to lose. The Tigers are at their best when their defense is fluid and energetic, taking opponents deep into the shot clock on every possession and controlling the pace of the game. That allows them to flourish on offense, particularly junior guard Kaitlyn Chen and first-year guard Madison St. Rose. When shots are falling for the two of them, and a handful of other Tigers hit the six-to-eight point range, Princeton is virtually unstoppable.
To Harvard's credit, however, this could very quickly turn into a nail-biter, as the Crimson almost squashed a career-best 35-point performance for Columbia's Abbey Hsu last weekend. How did they manage it? Pushing the pace, limiting the Lion's three-point opportunities, and refusing to take their foot off the gas pedal (a 33-point fourth quarter is nothing to sneeze at). Both Columbia and Harvard have high-octane offenses that top the Ivy League leaderboard. While Princeton was responsible for both of Columbia's lowest scoring games of the season, they have yet to figure out how to have the same effect on the Crimson, who handed them their first Ivy League loss since 2019.
The Tigers will also have their work cut out for them in containing Harvard's two leading scorers, guards Harmoni Turner and Lola Mulaney, who can both put up a lot of points in a hurry. But, if the Tigers stick to their strengths and play a clean game, they should be able to punch in their twelfth-straight win.
Princeton 70, Harvard 62 - Allison Ha, Staff Writer
Even though the Tigers fell to Harvard in their last matchup, I have Princeton winning this one. Since that loss, the Tigers have stepped up their game and made noticeable improvements as the season has gone on. With Princeton entering the game on an 11 game win streak, I truly believe that it does not really matter what team they are playing — they will find a way to win.
The Tigers have found their rhythm, and key players have been continuously stepping up to help the team get wins. Junior guard Kaitlyn Chen has been putting up huge numbers, and I expect her to continue to do so on Friday night.
When looking at Ivy League standings, Princeton stands at the top, along with Columbia, while Harvard stands in second, tied with Penn. Though this matchup should be a close one, with two high ranked teams in the Ivy League, the Tigers should be able to put this one away and boost their winning streak to 12 games.
Isabel Rodrigues is a senior staff writer for the Sports section at the ‘Prince’ who typically covers women’s basketball.
Allison Ha is a contributor to the Sports section at the ‘Prince.’
Please direct any corrections requests to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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