Saturday evening, Jadwin will host the most important basketball game it’s seen all year. With Ivy supremacy, March stakes, and the nation’s longest active home winning streak on the line following South Carolina’s loss to UConn on Feb. 16, women’s basketball will be put to the test.
Last season was a milestone year for the Ivy League, as both Princeton and Columbia earned bids to March Madness, marking the league’s first multi-bid appearance since 2016.
This year, the league has a chance to do something unprecedented — send three teams to the NCAA tournament. The latest ESPN bracketology has Columbia (18–5 overall, 9–1 Ivy League) and Harvard (19–3, 8–2) in the field — with Princeton (18–5, 9–1) listed as the first team out.
On Saturday, the Tigers will host the Lions in a marquee matchup at Jadwin Gymnasium. If the Tigers win, they will take sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings. However, if the Lions win, the Tigers’ only path to the tournament will likely be through Ivy Madness.
Columbia Head Coach Megan Griffith is familiar with the Orange and Black. She spent six years with the Tigers: her first two years as the team’s director of basketball operations and the final four as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“This one’s a bigger game,” Griffith said in her media availability on Tuesday. “I don’t think that we’ve forgotten that they celebrated on our court, in our locker room last year after winning an Ivy League Championship.”
Griffith returned to her alma mater in 2016, where she has taken the Lions to new heights. However, she has a 1–6 record against the Tigers at Jadwin. The Tigers hold the longest home winning streak in D1 basketball (men’s and women’s), with 29 straight wins in the 609.
The last time these two teams played, the Lions handed the Tigers their only Ivy loss of the season with a 58–50 win in New York City.
Columbia, who ranks 58th in the country with just under 19 turnovers forced per game on average, forced 24 in their triumph over the Tigers earlier this year. The Tigers, whose “Get Stops” motto and defensive ethos are incorporated into every fiber of their being as a team, were far less successful, only taking the ball 12 times from Columbia.
To defeat the Lions at home this Saturday, Princeton will need ball security to be a priority. On the defensive end, they’ll need to force the Lions to take difficult shots and cough up the ball. The Lions have a balanced attack, with Riley Weiss, Cecelia Collins, and Kitty Henderson each averaging over 13 points per game, showing they haven’t lost a step since Ivy League Player of the Year Abbey Hsu graduated last year.
Knowing the challenge ahead of them, Princeton has been hard at work.
“This week, we have been putting a lot of focus on doing all the little things on offense and defense for all [four] quarters of the game,” sophomore guard Olivia Hutcherson wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “The coaches have broken our practices up into [four] quarters to simulate the game and emphasize how hard we need to work for the full 40 minutes.”
Princeton 59, Columbia 55 (OT) — Hayk Yengibaryan, Senior Sports Writer
Griffith and the Lions have not lost two league games in a row since March 7, 2020. That loss came to then No. 21 ranked Princeton. However, the Tigers have won 29 in a row at home. Their last loss at home came against Columbia on Jan. 6, 2023. Do you notice a trend?
Something has to give on Saturday evening, and I believe it’ll be the Tigers on top after 45 minutes at Jadwin.
Head Coach Carla Berube recently secured her 500th career coaching win and will make the adjustments necessary from their last matchup on Jan. 20. The Tigers had 12 more turnovers, but only lost by eight. Furthermore, the Tigers had a disastrous third quarter where they were outscored 20–6, a stretch that saw the Tigers shoot just 27.3 percent from the field. I don’t see this being the case on Saturday night.
I expect Columbia guard Riley Weiss to struggle again. Last time around, the sophomore shot 15.3 percent from the field. However, it was guard Cecelia Collins scoring 18 points to lead the Lions. In eight home games, Collins is averaging 16.4 points per game. On the road, that number drops significantly to 11.8.
When two teams are as evenly matched as Princeton and Columbia, it’s very tough to beat the same team twice in one season.
In Princeton’s final home game of the season, expect the defense to shine and role players to step up to lead the Orange and Black to another signature win against Griffith’s Lions.
Princeton 49, Columbia 46 — Max Hines, Senior Sports Writer
Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the Ivy League. In the matchups the three have played against each other, there’s been one constant: low scores. Only once has a team touched 60 points, when Harvard defeated Columbia last Saturday, 60–54.
Princeton coughed the ball up an uncharacteristic 24 times in their last matchup against the Lions, their second-most of the season and most in Ivy play. Carla Berube and her staff are too smart and experienced for the Tigers to make that many mistakes again. However, Columbia showed a defensive might and relentlessness against Harvard that will still make the Tigers’ day difficult.
I expect points to be at a premium, as Princeton’s sophomore core has had a month more to develop and learn how to contain Columbia’s threats. Much like she did against Harvard, sophomore guard Ashley Chea will be called upon to make the big shot late in the game.
In January, Princeton lost by eight despite a minus-12 turnover margin. If Princeton can get that margin even to minus-five — or ideally neutral — I see the Tigers prevailing. Senior forward Parker Hill, who towers over Columbia’s starting five at six feet four inches, will be an X-factor, and Chea and sophomore guard Skye Belker will play more characteristically, knowing what to expect from the Lions.
With the Jadwin faithful behind them in the last home game of the 2025 campaign, Princeton will pull out a victory late after their toughest defensive battle yet.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and Education Director for the ‘Prince.’
Max Hines is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
Judge Dale E. Ho ’99, judge in Eric Adams corruption case, was ‘a great talent’ in theater and philosophy
Clara Docherty and Nikki HanJudge Dale E. Ho ’99 presided over a hearing on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the corruption case against Eric Adams.
Judge Dale E. Ho ’99 presided over a hearing on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the corruption case against Eric Adams.
Flood the Princeton canon
Christofer Robles“The University must commit to truth, representing its history more honestly. And until it does so, we need to flood the Princeton canon with more monuments to Princeton’s unsung heroes.”
“The University must commit to truth, representing its history more honestly. And until it does so, we need to flood the Princeton canon with more monuments to Princeton’s unsung heroes.”
As many universities take down their DEI websites, Princeton’s sites largely remain
Lia OppermanAs some universities scrub diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) websites to comply with Trump’s targeting of diversity efforts, Princeton’s websites have largely stayed up.
As some universities scrub diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) websites to comply with Trump’s targeting of diversity efforts, Princeton’s websites have largely stayed up.
