2024-25 Ivy League preview

The league then got two NCAA Tournament berths for only the second time, with Princeton winning the automatic bid and Columbia getting an at-large selection. And three players with Ivy ties were drafted into the WNBA, including Columbia’s first-ever draft picks.

“It’s awesome for the league,” Princeton head coach Carla Berube told reporters about the two NCAA Tournament bids during Ivy League media day on Oct. 17. “I think it just shows the country just what this basketball is like. It’s really great basketball. It’s competitive. There’s so many teams that could be playing on that national stage and competing with any Power Four conference. So yeah, it was awesome to have our two teams in last year, and hopefully that keeps happening year after year.”

The question now is, what will the Ivy League do for an encore in 2024-25?

“I think anything is possible,” Harvard head coach Carrie Moore said at media day about the possibility of the conference getting a third NCAA Tournament berth. “Our mantra [at Harvard] is ‘Believe it,’ so … if we got to two, why can’t we get to three?”

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On the whole, the league brings back about as much experience as it did a season ago. The eight Ivy teams return a median of 66% of their minutes and 66% of their points from 2023-24, according to The Next’s calculations. Entering last season, they returned a median of 59% of their minutes and 66% of their points.

However, the Ancient Eight graduated more marquee players in 2024 than in 2023. Only seven of the 14 players who earned All-Ivy honors in 2023-24 are back this season, including just one first-team selection, Harvard senior guard Harmoni Turner. In contrast, nine total honorees and three first-teamers from 2022-23 returned for 2023-24.

That sets up a season in which experienced players will have opportunities to elevate their games and star in the league — or perhaps a few first-years will fill in the gaps.

Let’s break down each team’s outlook for the 2024-25 season, starting at the top of the preseason poll. Many statistics, including those below the team names, are from the teams’ websites; all other data sources are hyperlinked. (Note: There may be small differences across sources because some Ivy League teams played one or two Division III opponents last season, and certain sources only count games against Division I opponents.)

You can read about every team or skip to your favorite using the following links:

Brown | Columbia | Cornell | Dartmouth | Harvard | Penn | Princeton | Yale

The championship contenders

Princeton

2023-24 record: 25-5 (13-1 Ivy, T-1st in the league)
Preseason ranking: 1st (10 first-place votes, 122 total points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 57.2% (7th-highest in the league)
Percentage of points returning: 60.4% (6th-highest in the league)

Top returners:

• Madison St. Rose, JR guard (14.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG in 2023-24)
• Skye Belker, SO guard (8.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.5 APG)
• Ashley Chea, SO guard (6.0 PPG, 37.9% 3-point shooting)

Princeton is in a familiar spot atop the preseason poll as it chases a seventh straight regular-season title and sixth straight Ivy League Tournament title. But the Tigers will look very different this season without Kaitlyn Chen, Ellie Mitchell and Chet Nweke, who all graduated. (Chen and Nweke are playing at UConn and Georgetown as graduate transfers after exhausting their Ivy eligibility.)

Chen was the 2022-23 Ivy League Player of the Year, Mitchell was a three-time Ivy Defensive Player of the Year and Princeton’s all-time leading rebounder, and Nweke pushed the Tigers into high gear when she became a starter midway through last season. Those three combined for about 40% of Princeton’s minutes and points and more than half of its rebounds and assists last season.

In particular, not having that trio will be a big adjustment defensively. Princeton has ranked above the 90th percentile in points allowed per 100 possessions in each of Berube’s four seasons, and Mitchell anchored that defense for three years.

“Chet and Ellie definitely brought that intensity on defense, and that’s what we need,” junior co-captain Madison St. Rose told reporters at media day. “That’s what we are. … It’s up to us now to try to replace that, and that comes from working hard in practice and constantly trying to get stops.”

Still, the Tigers are bullish about their potential. “It’s not a rebuilding year, it’s a reloading year,” associate head coach Lauren Battista told Ivy Hoops Online in September.

The perimeter should be a strength on both ends for the Tigers. They return two starters in St. Rose and sophomore Skye Belker, and sophomore point guard Ashley Chea, who backed up Chen last season, will have a bigger role. Fellow sophomore Mari Bickley should also continue to be impactful off the bench.

St. Rose, a potential Ivy League Player of the Year candidate, has stepped up as a leader this season.

“I learned a lot from Kaitlyn, Ellie and Chet, but now I just have to take what I’ve learned and put it into play now this year,” she said. “I mean, it’s definitely different. I have to be more vocal. I always have to make sure that the team is doing well … and it takes some time to adjust to do that.”

Meanwhile, Belker has more confidence after experiencing conference play and the NCAA Tournament as a first-year.

“I think being able to do that, go through those experiences, is going to help with just my confidence,” she told reporters at media day, “and [allow] me to now step into a new role and get to … the top games, the championship games, and [be] ready because I’m confident that I’ve done it before.”

Led by those guards, Berube expects this year’s team to take more 3-pointers than last season. Last year, the Tigers attempted 15.2 threes per game, which ranked in only the 15th percentile nationally, but made 33.0%, which ranked in the 75th percentile. St. Rose, Chea and Bickley each shot at least 34.0% from 3-point range, and their floor spacing could help the offense hum.

Princeton is less proven in the post, but Berube praised 6’4 senior Parker Hill and 6’4 junior Tabitha Amanze for bringing a “different kind of presence” down low than the smaller Mitchell and Nweke. 6’3 senior Paige Morton will also get minutes, giving Princeton one of the taller post trios in the league.

While there are more question marks than usual around Princeton this season, those will likely turn into exclamation points by season’s end. Since Berube arrived in 2019, the Tigers have gone 100-17 overall and 53-3 in the Ivy League. Odds are, she’ll produce another elite team that can compete with anyone in March.

Columbia

2023-24 record: 23-7 (13-1 Ivy, T-1st)
Preseason ranking: 2nd (5 first-place votes, 110 points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 64.5% (5th)
Percentage of points returning: 62.4% (5th)

Top returners: 

• Cecelia Collins, SR guard (13.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.9 APG in 2023-24)
• Kitty Henderson, SR guard (12.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.0 APG)
• Riley Weiss, SO guard (7.1 PPG, 33.6% 3-point shooting)

After years of steady growth under head coach Megan Griffith, Columbia earned the first NCAA Tournament berth in its Division I history last season. The Lions return six of the top seven scorers from that team, but they lost the program’s all-time leading scorer, guard Abbey Hsu, who graduated and was drafted by the Connecticut Sun.

As in seasons past, the Lions have their sights set on making program history. They have yet to win an outright regular-season title — they shared the last two with Princeton — and they’re also aiming to win their first Ivy Tournament title.

Their mindset is that Hsu’s absence creates opportunities for other players to do more, rather than being a problem.

“There’s this big void and there’s space now,” Griffith told reporters at Ivy League media day. “And I always say, ‘Who’s going to take the space?’ So it’s not just about the statistics, but who’s going to drive the culture forward? … It’s exciting. … The space is being taken with time, and I think we’re going to see a lot of new stars in their roles.”

And if there’s any offense that can make up for losing as important of a player as Hsu, it’s Columbia’s. The Lions ranked 15th nationally last season in points scored per 100 possessions and in the top 30 in effective field-goal percentage and assists per game.

Second-team All-Ivy guards Kitty Henderson and Cecelia Collins each averaged at least 12 points per game and shot at least 55% from 2-point range and 33% from three. The senior co-captains are both prepared to take another step this season.

“I’ve just come in with a completely new mindset,” Henderson told reporters at media day. “… I don’t need to be told to look to score anymore. … I want to go and get those points that Abbey’s left on the table.”

“It’s an opportunity that’s there for us, and we just want to go grab it,” Collins added.

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Alongside Collins and Henderson, the Lions bring back sophomore guard Riley Weiss, who Griffith tabbed last season as Columbia’s next elite scorer; junior guard/forward and co-captain Perri Page; sophomore guard Fliss Henderson, Kitty’s sister; and junior forward Susie Rafiu.

“[Weiss] has just put in so much work this offseason. We say it all the time: She seems like a different person,” Collins told reporters at Columbia’s media day on Monday. “So I think she can really surprise people. … There’s so much space to fill, and I think she’s really trying to fill that space.”

With most of the key returners being guards, Columbia still has questions to answer about its frontcourt. Last season, Rafiu started 14 games, but Griffith also often used five-guard lineups, with Page, Collins and Fliss Henderson defending bigger players when needed. Griffith isn’t sure which look she prefers this season, so she’ll rotate players early in the season and see how her frontcourt is developing.

“Our frontcourt is very young still,” she said. “… [But] we have a very smart group, and that’s what’s been fun about that frontcourt is that they’re also thinking the game. … They’re really wanting to learn why we’re doing things and grasping a good understanding of our system and our style. So I’m excited to see what they do and how they come together.”

The Lions’ historic season in 2023-24 ended in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament in part because their opponent, Vanderbilt, overpowered them inside. So while Columbia’s backcourt looks as strong as any in the Ivy League this season, its potential may hinge on the frontcourt and how much it can contribute.

Harvard

2023-24 record: 16-12 (9-5 Ivy, 3rd)
Preseason ranking: 3rd (1 first-place vote, 101 points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 82.4% (1st)
Percentage of points returning: 80.7% (1st)

Top returners:

• Harmoni Turner, SR guard (19.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.3 APG in 2023-24, two-time first-team All-Ivy)
• Katie Krupa, JR forward (11.3 PPG, 43.1% 3-point shooting, 2.8 RPG)
• Elena Rodriguez, SR guard/forward (10.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.3 APG, 51.1% field-goal percentage)

Since 2021, Princeton and Columbia have been the top two teams in Ivy League women’s basketball. But Harvard is the only Ivy opponent that has beaten both teams in that span.

“[People] can keep talking about Princeton and Columbia,” Moore said at media day with a laugh. “… Can we get 1% better every single day, and so by the time we’re playing those guys, come Ivy League season, we are the best version of ourselves? … If we’re playing at that level, I honestly feel like we can beat anybody on our schedule, and then they’ll start talking about us.”

Harvard did receive one first-place vote in the preseason poll, and it loses the lowest shares of minutes and points of any Ancient Eight team. With that returning core as well as a larger roster — 15 available players, up from 11 last season — the Crimson might have the depth and experience to win their first conference title since 2008.

“We’re so versatile in so many ways,” junior forward Katie Krupa told reporters at media day. “We have multiple options to go to in multiple different positions. And I think that’s the formula for a championship team.”

Turner, arguably the front-runner for Ivy League Player of the Year, will lead the Crimson this season. She said at media day that she is the healthiest she’s been at Harvard after dealing with some knee issues earlier in her career. She also gained international experience at the 3×3 Under-23 World Cup in September, winning a gold medal with Team USA and tying for the second-most points scored by any player in the tournament.

As she demonstrated at the World Cup, Turner has worked on her 3-point shot after shooting a career-worst 26.4% from there last season. Moore will play her more off the ball this season, freeing her up to focus on scoring at all three levels.

Around Turner, the Crimson have something Princeton and Columbia don’t: an elite, proven frontcourt. The 6’1 Krupa and 6’2 senior Elena Rodriguez are both inside-outside threats and former honorable mention All-Ivy selections, and Rodriguez is Harvard’s all-time leader in career field-goal percentage. At media day, Moore said that Rodriguez is “at the core and the foundation of everything we do” with her ability to score as well as facilitate.

Speaking about Turner, Krupa and Rodriguez’s chemistry after Harvard’s Crimson Madness event on Oct. 18, Moore said, “There’s just a natural synergy in [the] level of understanding and comfortability that the three of them have. … They love playing together. They know each other’s games really well. They set each other up really well. … It’s like, pick your poison.”

Harvard also has five first-years, including Hana Belibi, who espnW HoopGurlz ranked as the No. 98 recruit nationally. But Belibi, a forward who plays similarly to Krupa and Rodriguez, likely won’t get as many minutes early in the season as guards Lydia Chatira and Alayna Rocco. Chatira will start at point guard, while Rocco is a natural replacement off the bench for the only starter Harvard graduated, sharpshooter Lola Mullaney.

“[Chatira] can kind of just make stuff happen,” Moore said. “She’s really comfortable with where she should be and also where her teammates should be. And I think defensively, she brings just an understanding, a level of IQ, as a first-year that we haven’t really had in the last couple years.”

Put all that together, and Harvard could outperform expectations in conference play.

“We are a really good team,” Turner said, “and we have worked our butts off all summer. … Coach Moore talks about enjoying the process, and that’s what we’re doing. … We’re a very good team.”

The Ivy Tournament hopefuls

Penn

2023-24 record: 15-13 (7-7 Ivy, T-4th)
Preseason ranking: 4th (75 points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 72.4% (3rd)
Percentage of points returning: 72.4% (3rd)

Top returners: 

• Stina Almqvist, SR guard (15.3 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.1 APG in 2023-24)
• Mataya Gayle, SO guard (14.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, Ivy League Rookie of the Year)
• Lizzy Groetsch, SR guard (5.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG)

For the second straight year, Penn squeaked into the four-team Ivy League Tournament last season as the No. 4 seed — and then almost beat top-seeded Princeton. The 5-point loss still motivates the Quakers, senior guard Lizzy Groetsch told reporters at media day.

“We got to feel what it was like to be right there,” she said. “And … we know that if we keep getting better, we can be in that situation again. So we’re just super excited to have a chance to redeem ourselves.”

The Quakers were picked fourth in the preseason poll, which would give them another chance to pull a postseason upset. But they’ll have to hold off Brown, which tied with Penn for fourth last season but lost the tiebreaker for the Ivy Madness berth.

Penn is retooling its frontcourt, which lost first-team All-Ivy selection Jordan Obi and elite shot-blocker Floor Toonders to graduation. Veteran Penn head coach Mike McLaughlin called Obi — who’s now a graduate transfer at Kentucky — “perhaps one of the top 10 to play here at Penn in a long time.”

The Quakers got a head start on gelling their new roster and developing their identity during a summer trip to Italy and Croatia. McLaughlin got to experiment with player combinations, and Penn won its three games by an average of 38.3 points.

“I think it’s a good way to get a little taste [of] how Coach wants it right now and … work on things that we know we need to work on,” senior guard Stina Almqvist told The Next in September about the foreign tour. “So I think it’s great. … It couldn’t have come at a better time.”

To help fill in the gaps, the 6’1 Almqvist is expected to play more in the post. She was named second-team All-Ivy last season after averaging 15.3 points per game, up significantly from 3.7 over her first two seasons. She already took more than half her shots at the rim last season, so changing positions shouldn’t be a huge adjustment.

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The Quakers also return the reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year, sophomore point guard Mataya Gayle. Along with Almqvist and Groetsch, Gayle will be a leader on a roster that has six first-years, and McLaughlin raved at media day about her maturation.

“Mataya’s growth just from last year to this year is huge,” McLaughlin told reporters. “… She brings a group along with her, which I think is remarkable for a young player. If you’ve watched us practice, she’s talking the whole time. She’s involved in every play. She’s leading her group. She’s leading the coaches. …

“I think you’re going to see a more mature on-the-floor presence. Her skill is remarkable, her speed is tremendous, and I love how she’s grown as a leader.”

As a whole, the sophomore class offers a lot of reason for optimism. Beyond Gayle, guard Abby Sharpe earned minutes off the bench last year and is expected to take a leap this season, and center Tina Njike will debut after missing last season with a torn ACL.

However, Ivy Hoops Online reported on Wednesday that sophomore guard Ese Ogbevire — who averaged 16.4 minutes per game last season and earned two Ivy Rookie of the Week honors — is out for the season with an injury. Penn would not confirm or deny that she sustained an injury, so she is still counted here as a returning player. But if she is out, the Quakers will need younger players like Sharpe, Njike, and a first-year or two to step up even more around Almqvist, Gayle, Groetsch and junior guard Simone Sawyer.

Brown

2023-24 record: 16-11 (7-7 Ivy, T-4th)
Preseason ranking: 5th (71 points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 62.8% (6th)
Percentage of points returning: 56.9% (7th)

Top returners:

• Grace Arnolie, JR guard (14.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.3 APG in 2023-24)
• Isabella Mauricio, SR guard (8.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG)
• Olivia Young, SO guard (5.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 35.1% 3-point shooting)

For most of conference play last season, Brown was in contention to make its first Ivy League Tournament since 2017, which would’ve put an exclamation point on the Bears’ growth since head coach Monique LeBlanc arrived in 2020. Instead, the Bears lost a tiebreaker to Penn and missed out again. However, they’re hosting the tournament this season and laser focused on rewriting the script.

“We are thrilled [to host],” LeBlanc told reporters at media day. “And I don’t know if there’s any extra motivation. … We want to be in Ivy Madness so bad that [we’d] play out in the streets.”

“We are definitely hungry,” added junior guard Grace Arnolie, who was Brown’s second-leading scorer and an honorable mention All-Ivy selection in 2023-24. “I mean, there’s no doubt about that. I can feel it every day in practice, and it’s an amazing feeling … to be so close. We know we can do it.”

However, the Bears will have to take that next step without leading scorer Kyla Jones, who graduated and is now at Northwestern. They will also be without starting forward Ada Anamekwe, who suffered a season-ending injury over the summer, and could be without her frontcourt partner Alyssa Moreland, who is out indefinitely. (Brown’s percentages of points and minutes returning exclude Anamekwe but include Moreland because Moreland has not been ruled out for the season.)

Brown began figuring out how it’ll play this season during a summer tour of Portugal and Spain. One of its goals is to move the ball more on offense: The Bears assisted on 50.3% of their made field goals last season, which ranked in only the 26th percentile nationally. Instead, Jones often drove the ball into the paint and was a very efficient finisher there. But without her, the Bears will look to create more for one another, especially by driving and kicking the ball out for 3-pointers.

The Bears still have plenty of options offensively. Arnolie and senior guard Isabella Mauricio each rank in the top 10 in program history in made 3-pointers and have also been driving the ball more. Senior center Gianna Aiello played more assertively on the foreign tour, and sophomore guard Olivia Young hit a game-winning shot in Portugal. And the three first-years have fit right in.

“Sometimes I forget who’s a freshman and who’s not [with] the way we flow,” Arnolie said, “and it just feels awesome.”

The Bears are also looking to improve defensively in what will be their second season playing primarily man-to-man defense. Earlier in LeBlanc’s tenure, they mostly used a 2-3 zone, but defensive rebounding was a persistent problem. Last season in conference play, Brown ranked fifth in points allowed per 100 possessions — a big improvement from last place in 2022-23.

Now, the returners have a year of experience with LeBlanc’s man-to-man coverages, and she got to experiment with new wrinkles during the foreign tour. 

“[Defense is] a major area of focus for us,” LeBlanc said, later noting that the league’s best defensive teams tend to be the ones that make the Ivy Tournament. “We are really scrappy right now. We’re trusting each other. We’re committed to one another, we’re connected, and I think we’re flying around. We’re working really hard to make plays, and it’s great to see.”

After her freshman season ended in 2021-22, Mauricio traveled to the Ivy League Tournament to see firsthand how she and her teammates needed to improve. With improved defense and a retooled offense, the Bears have a chance to cap Mauricio’s career by playing in that tournament in front of their home crowd.

The builders

Yale

2023-24 record: 8-19 (5-9 Ivy, 6th)
Preseason ranking: 6th (48 points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 46.2% (8th)
Percentage of points returning: 42.5% (8th)

Top returners:

• Kiley Capstraw, JR guard (11.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 APG in 2023-24)
• Grace Thybulle, SR forward (6.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG)
• Mackenzie Egger, SR guard/forward (3.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG)

When Yale head coach Dalila Eshe arrived in 2022, she felt she had some rebuilding to do, even though the Bulldogs were fresh off a third-place finish in the Ivy League. That type of rebuild, Eshe explained at media day this year, was about getting players to buy into a new head coach and want to play her style of basketball.

The Bulldogs have missed the Ivy Tournament in each of Eshe’s two seasons, but entering Year 3, she sees signs of progress.

“Part of the rebuild process is rebuilding your culture,” she told reporters at media day. “And we feel like we’re finally in the spot where our culture is exactly where it needs to be, and now we can focus on basketball.”

On the court, though, Yale likely still has work to do to contend for the Ivy Tournament. The Bulldogs have easily the lowest shares of minutes and points returning of any Ivy team — in fact, no other team returns less than 56% of its minutes or points from last season. Point guard Jenna Clark, Yale’s best player and leading scorer, graduated, and guard Nyla McGill, the 2022-23 Ivy League Co-Defensive Player of the Year, is no longer with the team for what would’ve been her senior season.

In addition, forwards Brenna McDonald (now a graduate transfer at Washington) and Haley Sabol graduated, leaving the Bulldogs with just one player who is taller than 6’.

All told, Yale returns just two players who averaged even 4 points per game: junior guard Kiley Capstraw and senior forward Grace Thybulle.

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The Bulldogs will try to compensate for those losses by running an offense that emphasizes speed and ball movement and relies on everyone to distribute the ball rather than a single point guard. They will also try to shore up their defense, which ranked last in conference play in 2023-24 in points allowed per 100 possessions, and use that to fuel their offense.

“Obviously, when Grace is on the floor, we’re a different team,” Eshe said about Yale’s limited size beyond the 6’3 Thybulle. “And then at times, when Grace is off, we’re going to be a little bit undersized, but we’re going to be a lot faster. We’re going to be incredibly athletic. … So both versions of basketball that we’re capable of playing this year are a lot of fun. … A high-octane offense is what we’re looking for.”

Capstraw, who was the team’s second-leading scorer in each of her first two seasons, will be crucial to Yale’s success. She will likely need to score more and be more efficient after shooting just 34.3% from the field last season, but she said at media day that she was ready to play that larger role.

“Jenna leaving is definitely a big missing part for us. But I think for now, my mentality has been it’s time to step up, and who’s going to fill those shoes and who’s willing to fill those shoes, and I know I’m ready,” Capstraw told reporters. “… I’m more focused than ever on making sure I’m facilitating the offense from whatever position on the court I am and making sure I’m finishing and scoring at a more efficient rate.”

Rebuilding a program takes time in the Ivy League, as coaches can’t rely on an influx of transfers to remake their roster after a down year. It will likely take a little longer for Yale, but with a new culture in place, Eshe and the Bulldogs will look to pull off some surprises and shake up the race to make the Ivy Tournament.

Cornell

2023-24 record: 7-19 (1-13 Ivy, T-7th)
Preseason ranking: 7th (30 points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 76.0% (2nd)
Percentage of points returning: 75.8% (2nd)

Top returners:

• Emily Pape, JR forward (10.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.4 SPG in 2023-24)
• Rachel Kaus, SO guard/forward (8.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 47.3% field-goal percentage)
• Azareya Kilgoe, SO guard (8.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.7 APG)

For the first time in 22 years, Cornell has a new head coach. Emily Garner took over in April for Dayna Smith, who was the fourth-longest-tenured head coach in Ivy League women’s basketball history but struggled after winning her lone conference title in 2008. Last season, Smith’s Big Red won just seven games overall and tied for last in conference play.

Cornell struggled on both ends last season, but it was slightly better defensively, and that’s where Garner will start. Coming from Division III Trinity, she’s known for leading strong defenses. Her Bantams ranked in the 74th percentile or better nationally in points allowed per 100 possessions in each of the past five seasons.

At media day, Garner told reporters that she wants the Cornell defense to force turnovers, speed up games and produce “a little bit of chaos” for opponents. And she has junior forward Emily Pape and sophomore guard Clarke Jackson, Cornell’s leaders in total steals last season, back to help with that.

“The transition [between coaches] has been great,” Jackson told reporters at media day. “I think our team has been very receptive. I think we enjoy each and every practice we have. With there being a more defensive approach, I think a lot of us believe in the fact that defense makes offense, so it will help us … transition into offense and get looks.”

Though the voice leading practices is new, the Big Red return the second-most minutes and points from last season in the Ivy League, which should help Garner get acclimated. Five of Cornell’s top six scorers are back: Pape, Jackson, starting point guard Azareya Kilgoe, starting forward Summer Parker-Hall and reserve guard/forward Rachel Kaus.

One strength — and weakness — Garner has seen so far is her team’s unselfishness. Offensively, she wants to improve the 0.66 assist-to-turnover ratio from last season, but sometimes, she’s had to stop practice and tell players to shoot rather than pass.

“It’s been really good to see different people kind of lead in different ways during practices,” Pape, the team’s second-leading scorer last season, told reporters. “And honestly, that takes, I feel like, the pressure off of me to feel like I need to score all the time. … That’s my goal during the games, obviously. But we have a lot of talent.”

Garner said in April and again at media day that she wants to focus on “process and progress” much more than results in her first season. She wants to use the nonconference schedule, which has nine road games and just four at home, to teach her players how to win away from Newman Arena and prepare them for Ivy League play.

“We’re putting in a lot of different systems and a lot of different philosophies, and it will click for us,” Garner said at media day. “The question is … when it clicks for us, because every single day, this team is growing and they’re getting so much better.”

Until it clicks, Garner is emphasizing taking things day by day. For a player like Pape, it’s reassuring knowing she doesn’t have to master everything right away.

“It can seem like a really big jump to make the Ivy Tournament,” Pape said. “… But I think that by taking it day by day — as Coach emphasizes so much — having patience, understanding that we’re going to make mistakes in practice [and] that’s how we learn and grow, and also trusting one another and just continuing to stay together … [that] is really how we’re gonna, I think, beat the odds and be successful this season.”

Dartmouth

2023-24 record: 7-19 (1-13 Ivy, T-7th)
Preseason ranking: 8th (19 points)
Percentage of minutes returning: 66.8% (4th)
Percentage of points returning: 70.1% (4th)

Top returners:

• Clare Meyer, JR forward (8.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG in 2023-24)
• Victoria Page, SR guard (8.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.6 APG)
• Doreen Ariik, SR forward (6.8 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.7 BPG)

Dartmouth tied with Cornell for last in the Ancient Eight last season, but it’s a year ahead of the Big Red in adjusting to a new head coach. Linda Cimino returns for her second season intent on building on her team’s progress in Year 1, when its seven wins were more than it’d had in the previous two seasons combined.

“It’s good to be back on the court and remember things,” senior guard Victoria Page told reporters at media day when asked how this preseason compares with last fall. “… It’s more comforting stepping into a season when you have somewhat of a foundation and knowledge of what your coach is trying to teach. … I was optimistic last year having Coach Cim, but now having that year, trusting her, relying on her, I’m really excited [about] what we can do this year.”

Dartmouth’s growth last season happened because of its defense: The Big Green averaged the fewest points per game in Division I last season at 46.6, but they only gave up 60.1 per game, one of the stingier marks in the country. Cimino told The Next in December that grinding out games defensively and slowing down the pace was the best strategy for her team to win, even if it sacrificed some offense.

This season, Dartmouth will look to continue that stingy defense, which is led by senior Doreen Ariik. The 6’4 forward played in only 16 games last season against Division I opponents, but her 27 blocks in those games ranked in the 95th percentile nationally for total blocks in a season. (That statistic, from Her Hoop Stats, excludes Dartmouth’s two games against Division III teams.)

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Now, the key is adding some offense to go with the defense. Cimino told reporters at media day that players are starting to gain confidence from making shots in preseason.

Ariik added, “We’ve started working on just being creative. I think defense is all effort, defense is all about pride, but when you go to offense, it’s all about being creative. Like, what can I do with the ball? How’s my teammate open? So I think we’re excited to see how people start opening up their ideas.”

Dartmouth returns four players who averaged at least six points per game last season, including Ariik and Page. 6’3 junior forward Clare Meyer, the team’s leading scorer at 8.2 points per game, is also back and, according to Cimino, is in “the best shape of her life” after climbing a mountain in Europe this summer. And sophomore guard Nina Minicozzi, who ran the point last year and shot 34.7% from 3-point range, will move to her more natural off-guard position — the same move Page made a season ago to make room for Minicozzi. 

Minicozzi will make way for first-year Zeynep Ozel, who Cimino said will start at the point. First-year forward Olivia Austin is also expected to be in the rotation behind Meyer and Ariik, who are one of the bigger and more experienced frontcourt duos in the Ivy League.

Shortly after Cimino was hired in 2023, she told The Next she wanted Dartmouth to be a top-four program in the conference in her third season. But at media day this season, she accelerated that timeline.

“Realistically, our goal right now is to try to get into that top four,” she said. “… We never step on the court thinking we’re going to lose. And why not us, right? We feel a rebirth in this program.”