Princeton's Two All-Ivy Players Push It Past Harvard, 68-47, In Ivy Semifinal

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PHILADELPHIA – The Princeton Tigers, behind their two All-Ivy players, ran past the Harvard Crimson in the second half, 68-47, in the Ivy League Semifinal at the Palestra on Saturday evening.

Bella Alarie recorded her seventh double-double with a game-high 17 points and career-high 16 rebounds while Leslie Robinson added 15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block. Alarie's three blocks against the Crimson also tied the single-season record (50) set by Ellen Devoe during the 1984-85 season.

"This team is gritty and has got a lot of heart," said head coach Courtney Banghart when describing Princeton. "Those things are non-negotiable for this group and I'm really proud of them."

The Tigers held the Crimson without a basket over the first 4:46 of the game as they raced out to a 5-0 lead. In front by two, Alarie hit a long-distance trey to put the Tigers in front, 10-4, but Harvard quickly countered five straight to get to set the score at 10-9 with 2:29 to go. Harvard's Allison Rooks hit bucket as time expired to make the Ivy matchup a one-point game (12-11) after the first quarter.

Harvard took its first lead of the contest, scoring the first basket of the second quarter (13-12). Back-to-back buckets from Robinson put Princeton back in front, 16-13, with 6:14 remaining in the first half. Harvard retied the game on a free throw from Sydney Skinner at 5:14 mark (16-16), but Princeton would hold the Crimson scoreless for the rest of the frame, racing out to a 25-16 advantage at the intermission.

Princeton's offense came out on fire in the third quarter, making four of its first five shots, pushing its lead to 16 (34-18), which led to a Harvard timeout. Skinner drained a three-pointer to get Harvard within 13, but Princeton posted an 8-3 spurt to take an 49-31 lead after 30 minutes.

The Crimson made one more push, rolling out 11 of the first 14 points of the fourth frame, cutting its deficit to 52-42 with 5:51 to go. Alarie stemmed the Harvard rush with a bucket as the clock ticked under four and half minutes. Princeton recorded five consecutive points after that basket to put the game out of the reach.

Head coach Courtney Banghart's unit made 19 free throws and dished out 17 assists on 22 made baskets. Princeton held Harvard to 28.6 percent shooting (18-of-63) including just six field goals between the second and third quarters. During that stretch, the Tigers outscored the Crimson, 37-20. Harvard's three three-pointers were tied for a season-low. Princeton won the rebounding battle, 47-35.

The Tigers, at 16-12 overall, will battle the No. 1 seeded Penn Quakers, who defeated Brown, 71-60 in the first semifinal. Tip-off for tomorrow's championship is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU with live audio available on the Ivy League Digital Network.

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