Season Recap: Princeton Snags Ivy League Title, Ivy League Tournament Crown

As the NCAA women's basketball season came to a conclusion last night in thrilling fashion with Arike Ogunbowale's three-pointer giving the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a 61-58 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the National Championship Game, let's take a look back at the Princeton women's basketball campaign …

Signature Wins:
Dec. 9: Princeton (6-2) held Quinnipiac (5-4) to one basket over the final 7:13 of game action in an impressive 60-46 victory at the TD Bank Sports Center.

Leslie Robinson and Bella Alarie each had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Robinson was 7-of-14 (50 percent), adding two assists and a steal. Alarie stole three passes, blocked two shots and was 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) shooting. The sophomore surpassed 500 career points in the victory.

Quinnipiac's Aryn McClure hit a jumper with 7:13 to go in the game to put the Bobcats ahead, 44-43. That would be the last time Quinnipiac scored until McClure scooped in a layup with 50 seconds left. t was just the Bobcats' fourth loss at home since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, after winning 43 of its their previous 46 at TD Bank Sports Center.

Jan. 6: Alarie recorded her 15th career double-double while Gabrielle Rush poured in 17 points off the bench as Princeton defeated Penn, 70-55, at the Palestra on Saturday afternoon. It was Princeton's first win over Penn since Mar. 10, 2015.

The Tigers began the fourth stanza with buckets on back-to-back possessions to take its first double-digit lead of the contest, 52-42, just 90 seconds in. A trey from Penn's Princess Aghayere got the home team within eight (61-53) with four minutes to go, but Princeton shut the door defensively. The Tigers did not allow a basket over the final four minutes and made all five free-throws in that stretch to put the game away.

Feb. 13: Using a remarkable defensive effort, Princeton swept Penn for the first time since the 2014-15 season with a 60-40 decision at Jadwin Gym. Princeton finished the Ivy matchup on a 11-1 run and held Penn to just one bucket in the final 10 minutes of action.

Alarie went for 18 points (6-of-10 shooting), 15 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. It's her 18th career double-double and 10th of the season. Abby Meyers had 17 off the bench while Robinson was the first player with 10 assists in a game since Blake Dietrick in December of 2014.

Mar 11: Behind an overpowering defensive effort, Princeton steamrolled Penn, 63-34, in the Ivy League Tournament Championship Game at the Palestra.

Once again, the Tigers' defense shined as they held the Quakers to just two baskets in the first eight minutes of the second half, expanding their lead to 29, 49-20. Penn would not get within 20 the rest of the way.

Awards:
Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player: Bella Alarie
Ivy League All-Tournament Team: Bella Alarie, Leslie Robinson and Abby Meyers
Ivy League Player of the Year: Bella Alarie
Ivy League Coach of the Year: Courtney Banghart
All-Ivy: Bella Alarie (first team), Leslie Robinson (first team)
Ivy League Player of the Week: Bella Alarie (Dec. 11, Dec. 25, Jan. 8, Jan. 15, Feb. 19, Mar. 5), Carlie Littlefield (Feb. 12)
Ivy League Rookie of the Week: Carlie Littlefield (Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Jan. 8, Feb. 12), Abby Meyers (Nov. 27, Feb. 26).

Notes: This is the ninth straight year that Princeton reached the postseason … The Class of 2018 went 94-27 all-time and an impressive 47-9 in the Ivy League … The Tigers were one of the best in the country in scoring defense (13th, 55.1), blocked shots per game (29th, 4.9), scoring margin (29th, +12.5), field-goal percentage (30th, 36.8), rebounding margin (32nd, +6.6) and free-throw percentage (38th, 75.2) … Bella Alarie led the Ivy League in total blocked shots (79), was second in blocked shots per game (2.6), field goal percentage (48.9), rebounds (283), rebounds per game (9.4) … Alarie's 79 swats broker her own single-season program record … Her 283 rebounds are the third most in a single-season in Princeton history … Her 9.3 rebounds per game are tied for the seventh most in a single-season … The Ivy League Player of the Year also recorded 12 double-doubles … Leslie Robinson's 112 career games are tied for the 10th most in program history … Robinson's 129 assists are the sixth highest in a single-season .. Robinson snagged what is believed to be the first triple double in Princeton basketball history (men or women) vs. Brown on Mar. 2 ((10 pts, 15 rebs, 10 asts).

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