whitakk
Masters Student
Posts: 523
Age: 33
Reg: 11-11-14
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03-16-19 10:19 PM - Post#281734
Easy victory over Cornell, no surprise:
https://paw.princeton.edu/article/womens-basket bal...
Just noticed that Princeton has now won three Ivy semifinals, each by exactly 21 points.
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Vonsid
Sophomore
Posts: 146
Reg: 03-12-16
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03-17-19 05:52 PM - Post#281820
In response to whitakk
The women are goin dancin
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Tiger81
Masters Student
Posts: 412
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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03-17-19 07:53 PM - Post#281838
In response to Vonsid
Very tight game through the first three quarters; it was a see-saw contest with both teams playing tough defense but not able to get any separation. Behind by 3 heading into the 4Q, the Tigers lifted their level of play, triggered by a blocked shot by Bella Alarie on Leah Parker, who are both first team All-Ivy, and then a fast break layup/and-one by Gabrielle Rush. The dagger was on a kick out from Alarie to freshman Julia Cunningham who sank an uncontested three, her first points of the game.
Penn went cold in the 4Q and Princeton played heady, in-control and up-tempo to pull away. Carlie Littlefield, who was scoreless in the first half, was a huge spark in 2H and Alarie and Rush were outstanding for all 40 minutes.
Congrats on a great season for the Tiger women, they will be a touch matchup in the first round of the NCAAs.
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whitakk
Masters Student
Posts: 523
Age: 33
Reg: 11-11-14
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03-17-19 08:47 PM - Post#281846
In response to Tiger81
Whatever praise there is for Bella isn’t enough, but they needed the others (especially Littlefield) to step up to pull away down the stretch.
https://paw.princeton.edu/article/dancing-again -wo...
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Tiger81
Masters Student
Posts: 412
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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03-17-19 09:55 PM - Post#281857
In response to whitakk
Great piece!
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Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts: 2818
Reg: 11-23-04
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03-17-19 11:33 PM - Post#281861
In response to Tiger81
Super ending to a season that began 0-7ðŸ…
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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03-18-19 08:45 AM - Post#281882
In response to whitakk
Having the two best teams by far play on a neutral court after both having 12-2 regular season records was a fitting way to decide who would get the NCAAW bid. It is possible, but unlikely, that Penn is going to get a bid although it is possible. There was some speculation that the Tigers would get a bid even if they lost to Penn as they were 18-2 with Bella coming back from the injury -- Tigers were 2-7 without her but they played an incredibly aggressive non-conference schedule.
Thought that it was a toss up game as Bella really only has two consistent, reliable teammates and Penn is seasoned with four scorers and a very good head coach.
At the end of the day, the Tiger have Bella and Banghart and based on the box score, Bella had her usual dominant game. Banghart to her credit argued against having the tournament at the Palestra on a yearly basis and this year in particular would have been an additional obstacle.
ESPN has Tigers as a 11th seed against Kentucky.
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SecS3
Junior
Posts: 246
Age: 75
Reg: 03-17-16
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03-18-19 12:01 PM - Post#281919
In response to Tiger69
Didn't start 0-7. Tigers won their opener against Rider, then lost seven straight before beating Davidson prior to Bella's return.
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rbg
Postdoc
Posts: 3068
Reg: 10-20-14
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Women advance 03-18-19 01:21 PM - Post#281930
In response to SecS3
The Tigers were the better team, especially by the end the season.
Alarie is a unique talent, who had everything on display this weekend. She can hit from any part of the court, and is an excellent passer. She can also bring the ball up as good as most point guards.
She played the second best player in the league and absolutely took control, holding Parker to 5-23 for the game (1-14 in 2nd half). She also added 8 rebounds and 4 blocks for good measure.
After her 3 years at Princeton and her starting for the US's World Cup team two summers ago, it's hard not to think that she will get serious consideration for the 2020 WNBA Draft.
Rush played well and shot the three better than she had done through most of the Ivy season. Littlefield was out of sorts through the first game and a half, then took charge late in the third. That may have been the difference, ultimately, in yesterday's game.
If they want to get through the first round, all 3 will need to be at their best and they will need Jordan to stay on the court for most of the game. I must say I am surprised that they are a #11 seed, since I think last year's team was better and they only got a #12 seed.
With all due respect to the Tournament champs, however, I wish that the league would do something about the timing of the games. It's tough to have these teams fight for the automatic bid when one plays from 6 - 8 pm on Saturday night and the other team goes from 8:30 - 10:30 pm.
The 2017 Ivy Tournament had the opening game at 10 am, which gave Penn a lot more rest than than Princeton, which played its game at 6 pm. Maybe, moving it to Friday would be a better idea since it would give both teams a chance to rest before the Sunday final.
Edited by rbg on 03-18-19 01:24 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21285
Reg: 12-02-04
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03-18-19 06:56 PM - Post#281960
In response to Tiger81
Saw the first half on a plane. Thought Penn did a nice job overplaying Alarie for good stretches but she still was ridiculous. And when overplayed more often than not she was also able to hit an open teammate who usually converted. Offensively, incredibly impressive. Defensively, less so (at least in the first half) although obviously that changed by game's end.
Very tight game through the first three quarters; it was a see-saw contest with both teams playing tough defense but not able to get any separation. Behind by 3 heading into the 4Q, the Tigers lifted their level of play, triggered by a blocked shot by Bella Alarie on Leah Parker, who are both first team All-Ivy, and then a fast break layup/and-one by Gabrielle Rush. The dagger was on a kick out from Alarie to freshman Julia Cunningham who sank an uncontested three, her first points of the game.
Penn went cold in the 4Q and Princeton played heady, in-control and up-tempo to pull away. Carlie Littlefield, who was scoreless in the first half, was a huge spark in 2H and Alarie and Rush were outstanding for all 40 minutes.
Congrats on a great season for the Tiger women, they will be a touch matchup in the first round of the NCAAs.
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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Re: Women advance 03-18-19 09:04 PM - Post#281970
In response to rbg
Kentucky is rated somewhere between 18-22 in most polls so it is surprising that they received a #6 seed. I watched them play one time and they play hard, very aggressive defense. Point guard is small but she will harass Littlefield all over the court. I would not be surprised if Bella actually brings up the ball at times as Kentucky's center is not very quick.
Bella will be the tallest player on the court. All of Kentucky starters were very highly rated recruits out of high school, top #50 players but Bella, Littlefied and Rush can play with them. The issue will be Jordan and Stone but Cunningham may be getting more time which will be a good thing.
Kentucky probably wins but it should not be a blow out at all and there is a possibility of a surprise if Rush hits some 3 pointers and Bella does her thing. I do not believe that Banghart will be out coached. Time will tell.
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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Re: Women advance 03-22-19 08:34 AM - Post#282466
In response to bradley
Banghart sounded reasonably confident on the podcast. Apparently, if Princeton lost to Penn, the Tigers were identified as one of 8 teams for the remaining at large bids which says a lot when you start off 2-7. She is concerned about Kentucky's star player and high scorer who is only a freshmen but top 25 high school player. Banghart did counter that she has Bella.
To beat Kentucky will require that Bwlla, Littlefield and Rush play at their best and Bella dominates at certain points of the game.
She was surprised when the podcast host stated that Banghart has participated in 12 of the 27 IL appearances at the NCAAW Tournament - 2 times as an All IL player, 2 times as a Dartmouth assistant coach and 8 times in 10 years as a Princeton coach. He claimed that the only comparable baseketball run in the Ivies was the great run by the Penn men's basketball teams of the 70s'.
She is a very good coach and hopefully, Princeton retains her over time, as she is building a dynasty. I am pretty sure that she wants at least one more round with a healthy Bella in her senior year.
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rbg
Postdoc
Posts: 3068
Reg: 10-20-14
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03-22-19 10:08 AM - Post#282469
In response to bradley
Bella should be able to handle the Kentucky front court, but the guards are going to have their hands full.
Littlefield may actually be the key since she will have to deal with them for almost 40 minutes, while avoiding turnovers and putting up points. She is certainly capable of it, but it is a tough task since there really isn't an Ivy team, this year, that plays like that (maybe Yale from last year was closest).
They have a some depth with Cunningham, Baur and Boyer, but realistically they will need their top 4 to play at their best on Saturday.
Banghart's intensity seems to bother people outside of Princeton, but there is no denying she is a great coach. She seems like a Ivy League lifer, so I would think it would have to be a major conference job for her to consider leaving. Last year, the Virginia job opened up suddenly when the team's coach had to resign to deal with an adoption issue with her young daughter. With an improving ACC program that had just made it into the NCAA Tournament, I would have thought they would make a run to get Banghart, but they went for former WNBA star and Texas assistant coach Tina Thompson.
This year, Virginia took a step back with their first time coach and went 12-19 after being 19-14, 20-13 and 19-16 the previous three years.
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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03-22-19 10:48 AM - Post#282472
In response to rbg
Littlefield may be the key but I believe that she will have trouble with turnovers. Kentucky 3 guards average 6.5 steals per game and the PG guarding her, Murray, was named 1st team SEC defense as she averages over 3 steals per game. She is very small, 5'6" but incredibly quick and right in your face plus she does not turn the ball over and has a ridiculous assist to turnover ratio. As mentioned in prior post as crazy as it might seem, it would not surprise me if Bella takes the ball out of the backcourt as Kentucky C is slow with no quickness.
As to Banghart, the dislike for her could be her aggressive style (gender related criticism??) or her success. I assume that there is x amount of jealously regarding her success similar to the Amakers of the world. Her players love her - I know that -- but she is tough and demanding.
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Go Green
PhD Student
Posts: 1152
Age: 52
Reg: 04-22-10
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03-22-19 11:45 AM - Post#282477
In response to rbg
This year, Virginia took a step back with their first time coach and went 12-19 after being 19-14, 20-13 and 19-16 the previous three years.
They also barely beat American U., who is Penn's opponent tonight.
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whitakk
Masters Student
Posts: 523
Age: 33
Reg: 11-11-14
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03-22-19 10:34 PM - Post#282539
In response to bradley
Yeah, worried about Kentucky's press. Against Cornell, Princeton's press break was, give the ball to Littlefield and have her break the press, which might not work tomorrow. None of their other ballhandlers looked up to the task.
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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03-23-19 08:45 AM - Post#282544
In response to whitakk
Quakers and Crimson impressive wins at the WNIT confirms the improvement of IL WBB. Although it means nothing as to the potential result for this morning's game, it demonstrates the improvement in competition at the IL. Penn's team is very good and seasoned and may go deep in the WNIT.
I would feel a little better about this morning's game if Littlefield can demonstrate if she can handle the press reasonably well in the early minutes. Her height also works against her when she gets doubled. Cunningham may get some additional minutes as she is reasonably good with the ball vs. Jordan but the ultimate weapon out of necessity in handling the ball may be Bella. The question is would Banghart adopt that strategy if there is not another good option?
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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03-23-19 11:16 AM - Post#282546
In response to bradley
Better start than last year but K really pressures the ball. Doubling up on Bella but she is giving up the ball plus she is rebounding with her height advantage. Gonna be tough to win.
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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03-23-19 11:27 AM - Post#282547
In response to bradley
19-16 Tigers after one with Bella only having 2 points but with 2 fouls -- ouch. Jordan played a great 1st quarter. Kentucky is subbing like crazy and will be well rested for 2nd half.
Tigers top 6 players can compete based on one quarter but not totally surprising.
Announcers mentioned that Bella may be one of the top 10 players in next year's WNBA draft.
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bradley
PhD Student
Posts: 1842
Age: 74
Reg: 01-15-16
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03-23-19 11:32 AM - Post#282548
In response to bradley
Kentucky time out with Rush hitting another 3 pointer. Bella is giving the ball to the open shooter as they double team --- Bella is the ultimate team player.
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