There’s a term for a repeat, there’s a term for a three-peat, and we have even heard of the occasional “four-peat.” But doing something six times in a row is so infrequent that there’s nothing in our lexicon for it.
On Saturday, Princeton women’s basketball (23–4 overall, 13–1 Ivy League) achieved that very level of consistent dominance, winning the Ivy League regular season title for the sixth straight season while clinching the one seed in Ivy Madness after a win over the Penn Quakers (15–12, 7–7) on Saturday.
While Princeton and Columbia (22–5, 13–1) both have the same record in league play, the Tigers win the tiebreaker for the one seed due to their stronger NET ranking.
Saturday was senior night for the Tigers, and with senior guard and captain Kaitlyn Chen recording a career-high 11 assists, the Class of 2024 left their mark for the final time in Jadwin Gymnasium. It was sophomore guard Madison St. Rose, though, who took early control of the game, scoring nine of Princeton’s first 13 points to open up a quick seven-point lead.
The Tigers closed out the first quarter doing what they do best, turning defensive stops into scores on the offensive end, finishing the quarter up 22–12. Penn had just two more points than missed shots, and Chen was right behind St. Rose with six points through the first quarter.
Princeton 22, Penn 12 | 8:05 2nd
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 9, 2024
You know @kaitlynchenn2 would show out on Senior Day! #GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/Z8Cqka9cUJ
Surprisingly, Princeton’s defensive success in this matchup came from missed shots, not turnovers.
Princeton ranks 23rd in the country in turnover margin, the engine that makes their notorious defense go. Even down ten, Penn had to execute a simple but difficult recipe to get back in the game: continue to not turn the ball over and start making shots.
And that’s what the Quakers did. Riding a stout defensive quarter of their own, Penn slowly but steadily dug themselves out of the ten-point hole. They were led by a strong performance from likely Ivy Rookie of the Year Mataya Gayle. In the span of fifteen seconds, Gayle assisted on a jumper, stole the ball from St. Rose, and scored a basket of her own to cut the lead to 30–28 with a minute left in the second.
Then, in the closing moments of the second quarter, Chen had her first steal of the game, intercepting a Penn pass and driving the ball down the court. After faking a pass, she drove for a layup, bringing the score to 32–28 at the half.
Chen is the team’s “floor general,” and she, along with senior forward Ellie Mitchell and senior guard Chet Nweke, make up this year’s senior class. Madison St. Rose spoke about the influence and importance of this year’s seniors.
“The senior class is extremely important for our team’s success, and Kaitlyn, Ellie, and Chet all bring a unique style of play to the team,” St. Rose told The Daily Princetonian. “They execute their role[s] extremely well, and I feel like no matter what the situation is, no matter if we’re up or down, they are constantly giving it their all. They’re gritty, they’re really hard working, and it’s kind of inspiring just watching them play.”
At halftime, the Tigers’ vaunted defense had only forced three turnovers, and Penn led the battle in points off turnovers at 6–2. Thus, it was no surprise that Penn was still right in the game, but with the right adjustments at the half, Princeton could still pull away.
Penn continued the fight into the beginning of the third, drawing the score to 35–34 with a Mataya Gayle three. On the ensuing Princeton possession, Kaitlyn Chen was elbowed in the eye on a tight defensive assignment, sending her to the locker room for a quick examination. However, first-year guard Skye Belker picked up in Chen’s momentary absence, scoring five points in the quarter and adding an assist.
Princeton 35, Penn 34 | 8:10 3rd
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 9, 2024
Skye opens the scoring in the second half with a trey!
💻 - https://t.co/CJ3TkWrJ2f
📊 - https://t.co/JIZdHJF5Rc#GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/sv8EwqXOcZ
As Chen reentered the game a minute later, she immediately made an impact, dishing out constant jumpers and assists to St. Rose to bring the lead to 10. St. Rose later returned the favor, assisting a Chen jumper to make the score 52–40, and Princeton headed into the fourth up 55–47.
“One major adjustment that we made going into the third and fourth quarter was simply communicating with each other,” St. Rose told the ‘Prince.’ “The coaches prepared us before the game, telling us what sets Penn likes to run and how we should defend them. It’s up to us to make sure we communicate with each other and stay on one page.”
While a 23-point offensive outburst defined the Tigers in the third quarter, the turnover hungry defense finally picked up steam to start the fourth. Mitchell, St. Rose, and Chen forced three straight Penn turnovers, and Princeton converted on two of those possessions to bring the lead back up to 12. After forcing only five turnovers in the first three quarters, the Tigers’ defense forced seven in the fourth alone.
Princeton 59, Penn 47 | 8:35 4th
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) March 9, 2024
Quick timeout for the Quakers! Back-to-back turnovers lead to buckets for the Tigers including this one from @ashleyycheaa!
💻 - https://t.co/CJ3TkWrJ2f
📊 - https://t.co/JIZdHJF5Rc#GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/piXtDzd8w0
The Tigers continued to attack as the clock ticked down, widening their lead into the high teens in the final minutes. Up by 17 with forty seconds left, the Tigers were able to take their three seniors to the bench with a standing ovation from the crowd of 1,684.
As the final seconds ticked away, the Tigers won by a score of 72–55, cementing their Ivy title and 11–0 record at home for the 2023–24 campaign.
“Winning another Ivy League title in the regular season is just such a great feeling,” St. Rose said. “That’s really special to me, so I’m glad that I got to really share that moment with my teammates.”
Princeton heads to Ivy Madness on Friday at Columbia’s Levien Gymnasium, where they will face Penn for the third time this season, in a playoff rematch of this weekend’s contest.
“I’m just extremely excited to be playing in Ivy Madness next weekend,” St. Rose shared. “I can’t wait to try to [win] again this year.”
Max Hines is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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