NEW YORK – Bella Alarie broke two Ivy League records and another career record as the Princeton Tigers defeated the Columbia Lions, 79-64, at Levien Gymnasium.
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45 points
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20 field goals
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One of only two players in Princeton basketball history to score at least 45 points (Bill Bradley '65)
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Most points by an opponent (men or women) in Levien Gymnasium
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Program All-Time Leader in Blocks (160)
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Simply put … Alarie was incredible, going 20-of-28 from the floor, grabbing 14 rebounds, adding four blocks in 36 minutes. Her 20 field goals are the most in a single-game by anyone in the NCAA this season while her 45 points are sixth.
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In the second quarter, she broke the program's all-time block record with this swat, surpassing Ellen DeVoe '86 …
Congratulations to @bella_alarie on setting the program record for career blocks!
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"It feels amazing to be able to accomplish this in an Ivy League game because I know these games mean a lot more to my team," said Alarie. "Our ultimate goal is to get a ring, win the Ivy Championship and go to the NCAA Tournament so I played my heart out and my teammates got me in great spots to score."
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Alarie and Carlie Littlefield got off to a fast start as they combined for 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the first quarter. The Tigers ran off the first six points, but the Lions climbed within one, 9-8, as the clock ticked near six minutes. Alarie and Littlefield ran off a 5-0 spurt of their own to double up Columbia, 20-10, with under three minutes remaining, but a four-point play from Madison Hardy set the score at 24-18 after one frame.
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The Tigers took their largest advantage of the first half (38-28) with two minutes to go as Alarie registered her 19th and 20th points. The home squad scored the last five points of the stanza to cut its deficit to five, 38-33, at the break. Alarie and Littlefield scored 34 points in the first 20 minutes.
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Columbia got as close as one, 46-45, four minutes into the third quarter, but Alarie's trey a few possessions extended Princeton's advantage back to eight (55-47). The Tigers held the Lions off the scoreboard for the final 2:50 of the frame and pushed their lead to 13, 63-50, after 30 minutes.
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Head coach Courtney Banghart's squad led by double-digits throughout the fourth stanza and wasn't threatened.
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Littlefield contributed 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Sydney Jordan grabbed eight caroms as the Tigers outrebounded the Lions by 16 (47-31).
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Riley Casey had a team-high 22 points while Janiya Clemmons put 16 in the loss for Columbia.
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With the victory, Princeton improves to 9-8 overall and 1-1 in the Ivy League as Columbia fell to 5-11 this season and 1-2 in the conference. Banghart's unit takes on Cornell tomorrow (Feb. 2) in Ithaca. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
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