Courtney Banghart's 10 on 10: Bella Alarie's Freshman Season

PRINCETON, N.J. - Recently finishing her 10th season, Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart sits with 208 career victories, 113 of which have come in the Ivy League. She is fourth all-time in the Ivy League in career and conference wins.

Banghart's 10 on 10: The Coaching Staff
Banghart's 10 on 10: The Class of 2013
Banghart's 10 on 10: The Alumni Weekend
Banghart's 10 on 10: Addie Micir '11
Banghart's 10 on 10: Overseas Trips

To celebrate her 10 years at Princeton, the Ivy's all-time leader in overall winning percentage and conference winning percentage, laid out her 10 favorite memories. In this article, Banghart's memories will continue with a look back on Bella Alarie's remarkable freshman campaign in 2016-17.

One could only dream of making an impact during their freshman year the way Bella Alarie did.

It began on opening night against Rider, a team that reached the WNIT, as Alarie ripped off 24 points, drilled three treys, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked a shot and dished out an assist.

The first double-double came against Dayton, a NCAA Tournament squad, as the multi-positioned athlete added 11 points, 11 rebounds along with three assists.

People began to take notice as she was selected as the Ivy League Rookie of the Week a few days later.

A burden of consistency, Alarie posted double-digit point games in 13 of the team's final 15 games, had at least five rebounds and blocked a shot in 12 of those outings. When the season came to a conclusion with Princeton's eighth straight postseason trip, the Bethesda, Md., native was selected as the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. She was a first-team All-Ivy selection that picked up nine weekly Rookie of the Week accolades (tying a program record with Niveen Rasheed '13) and three more conference Player of the Week honors.

One of four freshman in program history to start every game, Alarie led the team in scoring (12.6), rebounding (8.0), blocks (51), field goals (139) and minutes played (919), placed in the Ivy League's top ten in defensive rebounds (third), blocks (fourth), total rebounds (fifth), three-point field goal percentage (sixth), scoring (ninth), field goals (ninth), field goal percentage (ninth).

She ranked in the top five all-time for freshman single-season records in games played (tied for first), blocks (first), three-point attempts (109, second), three-pointers made (39, third), rebounds (241, third), points (377, fourth), field goals (fifth) and field goal attempts (322).

Not bad.

For most freshmen, it'd be time to rest and reflect on a wonderful season.

Not for Alarie. She had one more thing to do.

Represent her country on the international stage.

In May, the freshman was selected to the 12-member USA Basketball U-19 World Cup team becoming the first Princeton women's player to play for USA Basketball.

Following a two-week training camp, the U-19 National Team participated in the 2017 FIBA U-19 World Cup from July 22-30 in Udine and Cividale del Fruili, Italy. The United States earned a silver medal, dropping just the championship contest to Russia, 86-82.

In her first two appearances on the international stage, Alarie just missed double-doubles, scoring seven points and snagging eight rebounds against Mali and putting together a 10-point, eight-rebound, three-steal performance in 15 minutes against China.

In the team's third game of the tournament, Alarie scored six points and contributed nine boards vs. Italy before following that up with nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds vs. Puerto Rico in the Round of 16.

The U-19 squad saved its most dominating performance for the Round of 16, rolling over Puerto Rico, 104-46. In the game, the U.S. had all 12 players score, scored 56 points in the paint and outrebounded its opponent, 72-37. The team's 72 rebounds were single-game U-19 record.

In the gold medal game vs. Russia, Alarie showed why she was one of the top freshman in the country as she had a team-high 12 rebounds. For the tournament, she started all seven games for the United States, averaging 7.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals per contest.

Not bad.

Not bad for the first time on the international stage.

So, it's let's recap the 2016-17 season for Bella Alarie

Ivy League Rookie of the Year
First Team All-Ivy League
Ivy League All-Tournament
Nine Ivy League Rookie of the Week Accolades
Three Ivy League Player of the Week Awards
Team leader in five categories
Make the USA Basketball U-19 National Team
Silver Medal at 2017 FIBA U-19 World Cup

Who's ready for the encore season in 2017-18?

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results