Women’s hoops preview: Princeton eyes next step; Rutgers, Hall rely on deeper rosters
Women’s hoops preview: Princeton eyes next step; Rutgers, Hall rely on deeper rosters
Plus: One player to know on all eight Division I teams in the state.
Don’t let a banner season for Princeton men’s basketball overshadow what the women’s team has been able to accomplish.
While the men stunned Arizona and Missouri in order to reach its first Sweet 16 of the modern NCAA Tournament era, the women’s program has plugged along like this inevitable locomotive nobody in the league can stop. Since 2009-10, they’ve captured 10 of a possible 13 Ivy League regular-season titles and made the NCAA Tournament 10 times in 12 opportunities (with the 2020 tournament and the entire 2020-21 Ivy League sports season wiped out by the pandemic). And they’ve reached the second round in back-to-back tourneys.
This comes even as Columbia and, to a lesser extent, Harvard have grown into legitimately good teams in their own right. It’s a testament to Princeton’s dominance that it received all 16 first-place votes in this year’s Ivy League preseason poll, even after losing multiple starters and with the Lions and Crimson nipping at their heels.
It’s a reasonable question, then, to ask what comes next. They’ve come close before – can this be the year a women’s Sweet 16 banner is added to the Jadwin rafters?
“It’s always in the back of our mind,” Kaitlyn Chen said. “It’s something that’s in the back of your mind, but not something you think about day to day, you know?”
“It’s the end goal, but we gotta take care of the little pieces to get in that position,” Ellie Mitchell added. “Then we know once we really earn it that we’re excited, we’re confident.”
The seniors spoke these words at Princeton’s media day before coach Carla Berube joined the ring of reporters, and it’s safe to say she’d be pleased with her players’ focus.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Berube said, “but I think we do” have what’s required to take the next step as a program.
“I think we have the talent and the leadership and the drive, especially our seniors. They’ve got a chip on their shoulder. They’re hungry for more. We keep knocking on the door of that Sweet 16, but you can’t be thinking about that right now.”
The Tigers’ ended the 2022 tournament heartbroken on a one-point loss at No. 3 seed Indiana – a Hoosiers team that’s become one of the best in the sport. Last year, they nearly rallied to stun No. 2 Utah in the second round before a seven-point defeat.
Princeton made it there despite digging itself a surprising 0-2 hole to start league play. Granted, those losses came to Harvard and Columbia, but they snapped an unbelievable 42-game winning streak in Ivy play that predated Berube’s tenure.
“We aren’t quick to forget how we started our Ivy League season last year, 0-2,” Mitchell said. “That was a big reality check, so it’s just a reminder that we’re Princeton basketball but you can’t take that for granted. The name doesn’t do anything on its own. We’ve got to work for that.”
The Tigers will rely on Ivy Player of the Year Chen and rebounding force Mitchell but must replace graduates Julia Cunningham and Grace Stone around the perimeter. They’re also bigger than they’ve been in recent campaigns, with 6-foot-4 Tabitha Amanze ready to play after missing her freshman season with an injury. Amanze was ranked No. 43 nationally in her recruiting class by ESPN.
Berube rattled off Amanze’s strengths – shot-blocking, scoring at the rim, a mid-range shot – while indicating that juniors Parker Hill (6-foot-4) and Paige Morton (6-foot-3) are ready for more minutes at center as well.
“It’s something we haven’t had in a while, just that presence inside,” Berube said. “… We have a lot to go to. We just need Ellie to be able to play the four for those bigs to play the five.”
Princeton swept Seton Hall and Rutgers on the road last year, though the Pirates beat Princeton at Jadwin as recently as December 2021. The Tigers get to host both sides of that triangle this season (and thanks to the schedule working out, I’ll be able to cover both games).
The next-best team in the state is probably Seton Hall, which couldn’t break into the NCAA Tournament last year but had impressive wins over ranked teams like Marquette and St. John’s.
Speaking to reporters last week at Big East media day, Pirates coach Tony Bozzella was optimistic about his team’s outlook if they can remain healthy and win more close games.
“We lost six games in the last 5 minutes of the game last year, and that’s why we didn’t get in (to the tournament),” Bozzella said.
They lost two of the program’s best players in recent memory, guard Lauren Park-Lane and center Sidney Cooks, but Bozzella likes the depth and experience he has after bringing in several transfers. Seton Hall has nine seniors or graduate students in the fold this year.
The two transfers to know are A’Jah Davis and Micah Gray. Davis, a big from Northern Illinois, made the All-MAC first team two years running. She averaged 16.4 points and a whopping 12.2 rebounds per game over those two seasons. Gray, a guard from Texas Southern, was the SWAC Freshman of the Year who scored in bunches last season – including a 41-point game.
Meanwhile, Rutgers is also deeper than before – a truly necessary development. The Scarlet Knights spent Coquese Washington’s first season in charge with only eight players on the roster. Now they have 11, which Washington said allows her to create different lineups.
Texas A&M transfer Mya Petticord “has taken the reins as our point guard,” Washington said. It wasn’t surprising to hear the coach say freshman Jillian Huerter can shoot the lights out – her older brother is noted Maryland Terrapin and current NBA sharpshooter Kevin Huerter.
Kaylene Smikle emerged as the star of the show in a stellar freshman campaign, leading the team not only with 17.9 points per game and a 36.1% rate from three, but also with 2.2 steals per contest. I was surprised the guard did not receive preseason honors from the league after making the All-Big Ten second team in the spring.
The biggest thing holding the Scarlet Knights back last year, besides the short bench, was a disastrous 19.4 turnovers per game. For context, only one Power Six school (Boston College) averaged more. Washington believes having a true point guard in Petticord will help take that number down.
“Early in the season, it might be a little bit of a struggle as they’re learning how to play fast with new people,” Washington said of the turnover problem. “But I’m confident as the season goes along, we’ll settle down and we’ll be OK.”
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You thought I was done, didn’t you? No chance. Today’s edition needs to function as an overview of the entire sport of women’s basketball, at least within New Jersey state lines. So let’s go the extra mile and highlight one key player to know from all eight Division I teams:
Rutgers
Chyna Cornwell, C
Smikle is a thrilling scorer to watch, but Cornwell is crucial on the boards (8.6 rebounds per game last year, including 3.3 offensive) and as a senior leader for this group. The word she uses to sum up this year’s Scarlet Knights is relentless. “We’re just relentless to get better and just to really become a team and really be the best version of ourselves, individually and as a whole,” she said.
Big Ten preseason poll (unofficial): Outside top five
Seton Hall
Azana Baines, G/F
Seton Hall’s No. 2 returning scorer, Baines represented the U.S. at the 3x3 Under-23 Nations Leagues tournament in Chile this summer. She gave a no-holds-barred self-assessment of her own game: “It’s helped me defensively, tremendously. Last year I used to suck on the defensive end, but I feel like playing 3-on-3 has definitely helped me improve defensively. That’s definitely going to translate over to this season.” The Pirates need her services at both ends of the court, but Bozzella is confident in her. “There’s no doubt she will be a first-team all-conference player at the end of the year. Zero doubt in my mind,” he said.
Big East preseason poll: Fifth of 11
Princeton
Madison St. Rose, G
We know what we’re getting from Chen and Mitchell. St. Rose, though, was really on the rise late in her freshman year and now must contribute even more in the backcourt sans Cunningham and Stone. Berube praised her for taking on leadership responsibilities. (I imagine St. Rose can relate to a freshman guard like Fadima Tall, as both were top-100 recruits out of high school.) I wrote about St. Rose last spring right after Ivy Madness.
Ivy League preseason poll: First of eight
Monmouth
Ariana Vanderhoop, G
Best basketball name? The WNBA’s Aerial Powers still holds that title for me, but you can’t go wrong with someone named Vanderhoop. She did a bit of everything for the Hawks last season and helped them make a Cinderella run through the CAA Tournament in their first season in the conference. Safe to say she’s the senior her teammates will look up to as they try to replicate that performance.
CAA preseason poll: Sixth of 14
Rider
Makayla Firebaugh, G
More than just Rider’s leading scorer (14.3 ppg), Firebaugh rebounds well for her position, at 4.5 per game for the length of her career. This Broncs team lost three of its top four rebounders (Raphaela Toussaint, Victoria Toomey and Amanda Mobley) to graduation or the portal, so Firebaugh may have to do even more to keep the Broncs competitive.
MAAC preseason poll: 10th of 11
Saint Peter’s
Jada Leonard, G
No way to sugarcoat it: Saint Peter’s went 0-30 last season. Things must get better. The Peahens ranked near the bottom of Division I in several offensive categories, from 2-point shooting percentage to turnovers. The good news is the top contributors were young players who now return with some experience under their belt. Leonard (10.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals per game as a freshman) leads the way, but she’ll need to reduce her 3.6 turnovers per game.
MAAC preseason poll: 11th of 11
NJIT
Alejandra Zuniga, G
Like Leonard at Saint Peter’s, Zuniga was her team’s top scorer as a freshman in 2022-23. The point guard from Madrid won America East Rookie of the Year and ranked sixth in the conference in scoring (12.3 ppg). Zuniga also led her squad in assists. While she has time to grow as a player in new ways, she has one more season with graduate student Kenna Squier (11.0 ppg, 5.2 rebounds, 49.8% shooter last year) to try to make a run at a league title.
America East preseason poll: Fifth of nine
Fairleigh Dickinson
Teneisia Brown, F
FDU was a fantastic 24-8, 14-2 in the NEC last year, but the Knights lost the conference championship game to Sacred Heart. Then they lost their top five scorers. Brown transfers in after two seasons at Merrimack; in the latter, she put up 10.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on a reliable 48% rate from inside the arc. The Knights will need her to replace a ton of lost production.
NEC preseason poll: Fourth of nine
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Thanks for reading, as always. This newsletter was by no means perfect, but I’m proud to say it’s my most comprehensive women’s basketball edition so far. As I alluded to earlier, I am hoping to cover more women’s hoops this season, especially a few more regular-season games at Jadwin Gym.
Let’s clean the glass with a few stray notes and quotes from the ol’ notebook:
Tony Bozzella knows in-state rivalry games are hugely important for New Jersey girls basketball and has come up with different ideas he wants the other colleges to consider: “Let’s play (the Rutgers game) in Atlantic City one year instead of playing at either one of our places. Let’s make a New Jersey girls basketball day where we have eight colleges … Let’s get them all involved, and Seton Hall and Rutgers play maybe the 1:00 game in between in Atlantic City and get a lot of people down there and really promote it. I’m trying to promote these things. Rutgers men’s basketball has done a great job with Seton Hall men’s basketball about building this. We need to do the same.”
In a similar vein, Rutgers tips off its season Monday with a visit from Monmouth, the only New Jersey school not named Princeton to make the women’s NCAA Tournament last March. “I think it’s helpful that they get to in front of their friends, play in front of their family, compete against other young women that they have competed against in high school,” Coquese Washington said. “Those kind of rivalries, high school rivalries, that come into play when they get to college, those things are important and they make for a challenging game. We know that Monmouth is going to come in here with a little added juice, a little pep to their step. They want to win this in-state matchup, and so do we.”
Over at Princeton, Kaitlyn Chen highlighted Chet Nweke and Tabitha Amanze as players to look out for: “Tabby is just a monster. She’s huge, she can finish super well around the basket. And Chet’s just this great energy player, she brings so much. She just uplifts us and gets us these huge O-boards and I think she can contribute even more offensively this year.”
I’ll be back Friday morning with a women’s hoops feature story before opening night of the 2023-24 season finally arrives. Monday will be my preseason predictions column, and then we’re going to a Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday schedule during the season. Remember, Tuesday editions will eventually transition to paid subscribers only, but Thursday and Sunday will always be available for free.