Eight Ivy League players who have elevated their games in 2024-25

The solution is that Aiello is “G,” Arnolie is “Gr” and Powell is “GP.” But sometimes LeBlanc will still check for understanding. “Are you guys with me?” she’ll ask.

This confusion wasn’t entirely foreseeable for LeBlanc over the summer. Arnolie is in her third season as a starter, but Aiello played sparingly last season, and it’s often difficult to know how quickly a first-year will adjust to college basketball. But Aiello and Powell have stepped up more than many observers might’ve predicted. Aiello is averaging close to a double-double, and Powell ranks second on the team in scoring behind Arnolie.

There are similar examples of players stepping up across the Ivy League. So here’s one player from each team who’s taken on a bigger role or made her coach write her name on the whiteboard more often than expected.

All statistics reflect games through Dec. 20, 2024. Unless otherwise hyperlinked, they come from Her Hoop Stats and only include games against Division I competition.

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Gianna Aiello, senior center, Brown

One hint that Aiello would impress this season was how well she played on the Bears’ foreign tour in August. LeBlanc praised Aiello afterward for her performances throughout the trip, and Aiello told The Next that she’d worked on her confidence and her “dominant mentality.”

Those things have carried over this season. Through 10 games against Division I opponents, the 6’4 senior is averaging 9.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 58.7% from the field. She has had two double-doubles, including 23 points and 14 rebounds against Monmouth on Nov. 9. And she has grabbed fewer than seven rebounds just once — in a game where she only played 12 minutes due to foul trouble.

Her contributions have been especially important because starting forwards Alyssa Moreland and Ada Anamekwe were injured to begin the season and because many of Brown’s guards haven’t shot the ball efficiently. In addition, centers are important facilitators in Brown’s offense, and Aiello is an experienced player who can problem-solve in real time if things break down.

“We’ve obviously been working to find our rhythm as a unit right now,” LeBlanc told The Next on Dec. 9. “And when seniors graduate, you’re anticipating that, but nobody was anticipating Alyssa and Ada not being in the group, too, at the beginning of the year. So I think just working through that and different players stepping in in different roles and things, Gianna has been somebody who just kind of has always been playing well.”

Aiello has also led by example and mentored younger teammates throughout her career. She has been “the ultimate team player,” LeBlanc said, even when she was getting fewer minutes. And she’s someone LeBlanc can count on to raise the team’s energy level. Those intangibles could make Aiello especially pivotal in the Bears’ quest to make their first Ivy League Tournament since 2017.

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Perri Page, junior guard/forward, Columbia

In Columbia’s first three games this season, Page set a career high in rebounding, then recorded her second career double-double, then set a career high in scoring. After the third game, when she had 21 points and seven rebounds against FGCU, Page was asked why she’d been more assertive this season.

“Team needs it!” she said on ESPN+, referencing the graduation of the program’s all-time leading scorer, Abbey Hsu. “After losing Abbey, we needed people to step up, and I needed to take on that role of just playing offensively and defensively, being the backbone, of leading my team on the defensive side but also … help[ing] dictate the offense a little bit more.”

Overall, Page is averaging 8.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.3 assists in 28.8 minutes per game — all career bests for the 5’11 jack-of-all-trades. She has started nine of 11 games, briefly coming off the bench to give Columbia more experience there before returning to bolster the starting lineup.

This is Page’s first full healthy season after tearing her ACL late in her freshman season and getting reacclimated early in her sophomore season. Last summer, she focused on improving her fitness, becoming more explosive and moving more efficiently alongside developing her basketball skills.

In addition to her statistical contributions, Page is now a co-captain for the Lions, and head coach Megan Griffith calls her one of their anchors defensively.

“She’s just a hungry player,” Griffith told reporters on Nov. 14. “She’s just always had big goals, always has gone and taken things, never been handed them. And so now that we’ve had a lot of space left to fill with last year’s graduation of [Hsu and two teammates], Perri’s just been tenacious in taking the space.

“And … when players are confident in their abilities and they know the system and trust themselves, they automatically become better decision-makers. … It’s just such a domino effect.”

Summer Parker-Hall, senior forward, Cornell

Though Parker-Hall has been a starter for much of her college career, she has particularly thrived this year under first-year head coach Emily Garner. She has teamed with junior forward Emily Pape, Cornell’s leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, to give the Big Red a potent duo in the paint and beyond.

The 6’ Parker-Hall is averaging 11.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. All of those are career highs, even as her minutes haven’t increased much from the past two seasons. She is also shooting 58.2% from the field and 88.9% from the free-throw line.

“We knew Summer could be good,” Garner told The Next on Dec. 9, “but I think … what she’s done is unlock a new level in her game.”

Garner added, “She’s our engine. I think she’s kind of how we go at times. … She’s just someone who’s doing a little bit of everything — her court vision, her ability to lead. She’s just really stepped into a role that has been absolutely key, fundamental and instrumental to our team.”

Parker-Hall has scored in double figures in seven of her past eight games. That includes a loss to Northwestern on Dec. 1 in which she had 16 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and two steals. She helped Cornell hang with the Wildcats, trailing by just 3 points with 5:40 to play.

Her consistency has been crucial on a team that is playing several young players around her and adjusting to a new coaching staff. Of the six other Big Red players who have started at least one game this season, five are underclassmen. Going forward, if Cornell outperforms the preseason Ivy League poll — which had the Big Red finishing seventh — Parker-Hall will likely be a big reason why.

Olivia Austin, first-year forward, Dartmouth

Austin has burst onto the scene for Dartmouth, starting every game and averaging 32.0 minutes per game. Yet it wasn’t even a sure thing she’d play basketball in college. At Nazareth Academy in Illinois, she earned eight all-conference nods across three sports and was also a high-level volleyball prospect.

Dartmouth head coach Linda Cimino told The Next on Dec. 13 that the 6’1 Austin is still learning some of the fundamentals of the game, but her upside is clear. She is averaging 7.4 points per game, second-best on the team, and leads the Big Green with 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Eventually, Cimino hopes to develop Austin’s 3-point shot so she can be an inside-outside threat and play multiple positions.

Austin’s best outing came in just her third college game and her second against a Division I opponent. She logged her first college double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against UMass Lowell, while adding two assists and two steals.

“She’s probably our hardest-working player,” Cimino said. “And she is so athletic. She is tremendously gifted with athleticism. She can jump, she’s strong, she can defend. …

“The best thing she does is run in transition. She can rebound the ball, outlet the ball and be the first one back to score a layup. … I love her. Some days I’m like, ‘How did we get her?’”

Dartmouth is in its second season under Cimino, who was hired to rebuild the program after it won just five games in the previous two seasons combined. The Big Green recently got consecutive road wins for the first time in nearly six years, and Cimino said she sees slow and steady progress.

Getting a recruit like Austin is also a form of progress, and going forward, Dartmouth can look to build around her and those who follow her to Hanover.

Gabby Anderson, junior guard, Harvard

Two years ago, Harvard opened Ivy League play by ending Princeton’s 42-game conference winning streak. As a first-year, Anderson started that game and had 7 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

However, Anderson tore her ACL two weeks later, and her recovery stretched into her sophomore season.

Now, she’s a mainstay again for the Crimson, who have started the season 10-1. The 5’11 Anderson has started every game and is averaging 5.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Those are all career highs, even though her minutes are down slightly from two years ago. She has also added a 3-point shot, shooting 34.8% on about two attempts per game after going 0-for-6 in her first two seasons.

“She’s always been at the core, when healthy, of everything that we do,” head coach Carrie Moore told reporters on Nov. 13. “… She’s someone that this team looks to to lead and set the tone and be the anchor, especially defensively. But then all of a sudden, now she’s doing stuff offensively that is anchoring us, too.”

Moore’s decision to press full-court this season has showcased even more of what Anderson can do defensively. Anderson and fellow starting guards Harmoni Turner and Saniyah Glenn-Bello are long, quick and active — perfect for harassing opposing ball-handlers. And the team has adopted a defensive-minded identity after being more offensive-minded in years past.

“Gabby Anderson’s health, I think, has really allowed us to play more gritty,” Moore told reporters on Oct. 30, just before the season began. “… Grittiness is hard to come by, and I think it helps you win championships.”

According to Moore, Anderson has also stepped up as a leader and held teammates accountable, including after Harvard’s loss to Quinnipiac on Nov. 10. And if the Crimson go on to win their first Ivy League title since 2008, chances are that Anderson will be right in the thick of things.

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Stina Almqvist, senior guard, Penn

Entering this season, there were questions about who would step up for the Quakers. Almqvist and sophomore guard Mataya Gayle were expected to shine, but Penn needed additional scoring and frontcourt help.

Two first-years, forward Katie Collins and guard Sarah Miller, have answered the bell. Both have become starters, and they’ve combined to win four Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards. Either one could’ve been the pick here. But Almqvist is performing at a Player of the Year level, just two seasons after averaging only 3.1 points per game.

The 6’1 Almqvist had her breakout as a junior last season, averaging 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and earning second-team All-Ivy honors. This season, despite playing more in the post because of Penn’s limited depth there, she has upped her game even more.

Through 10 games against Division I opponents, Almqvist is averaging 18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. She has had at least 15 points and five rebounds in all but one game. Using the Ivy League’s statistics, which include non-Division I games, she ranks second in the league in scoring, third in rebounding and eighth in assists.

“She did everything,” legendary former Villanova head coach Harry Perretta said on the broadcast after Almqvist’s 18 points and 11 rebounds helped Penn beat La Salle on Dec. 6. “She rebounded the ball, she passed the ball, she defended. … When you’re scoring points and then you’re doing other things like that, it … makes everyone else relax a little bit. … I mean, she just basically plays every position.”

Almqvist has improved her game in several areas this season. She’s taking 2.3 more shots per game than last season, but she’s been similarly efficient. She’s also attempting 3.2 more free throws per game. And she’s handling the ball better, notching a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the first time in her career.

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Fadima Tall, sophomore guard/forward, Princeton

Since junior star Madison St. Rose tore her ACL in Princeton’s fourth game of the season, head coach Carla Berube has started four sophomores around senior forward Parker Hill. All of them have risen to the challenge of doing more in different ways, but Tall has been a particular bright spot.

Last season, the 6’ Tall played in just 15 of Princeton’s 30 games, logging 88 total minutes and scoring 45 points. This season, she’s started all 10 — entering the lineup even before St. Rose’s injury — and has already played more than triple the minutes she did last season. Tall is averaging 8.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals, and she leads all healthy Tigers in rebounds and steals.

“She’s a great communicator [on defense] for such a young player with not a lot of experience,” Berube told The Next on Dec. 12. “… We call her ‘The Hawk.’ She gets her hands on a lot of balls.”

On Nov. 21 against Seton Hall — Princeton’s first full game without St. Rose — Tall stepped up with 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. A few days later against Rutgers, she got her first collegiate double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four steals against Rutgers.

Tall’s passing is one reason Princeton’s offense has flowed well early in the season, despite having several players in new roles. Though she hasn’t made a lot of 3-pointers yet, Berube is confident that Tall can help the Tigers space the floor better than in recent seasons. Tall’s leadership has been a difference-maker, too.

“To be a vocal leader as a sophomore that didn’t get to play a lot her freshman year just, I think, says a lot about her leadership and just her character,” Berube said. “… Her teammates really look to her because she has such a strong presence on the court.”

Mackenzie Egger, senior guard/forward, Yale

Egger is another senior who’s making the most of her final season. “There’s that level of urgency where you’re like, ‘This is it,’” Yale head coach Dalila Eshe told The Next on Dec. 12, speaking from both her coaching experience and her experience playing at Florida. “‘This is the last time that I get to do this, and I’m gonna take advantage.’”

Before this year, Egger’s best season came as a sophomore, when she started 22 of 27 games and averaged 5.9 points and 2.8 rebounds. Last season, she returned to a reserve role.

Now a starter again, Egger’s production has exploded, even as Yale has struggled to a 1-11 record. She is leading the Bulldogs with 15.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, and she’s shooting 45.7% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range. No other Yale player is averaging more than 6.2 points or making even 31% of their threes.

“It’s as if all the pieces have clicked for her,” Eshe said. “… Over the last couple years, we’ve seen glimmers of this in practice. I always say to my team, ‘She is the gold standard of hard work. That kid never takes a play off, whether it’s practice or it’s a game.’ … But it didn’t always translate [to games]. … So she finally is exactly what we always knew she would be.”

Egger’s stat lines this season have included:

• 25 points and nine rebounds in Yale’s season-opening win over Monmouth on Nov. 4
• 18 points and a career-high 20 rebounds against Merrimack on Nov. 19
• A career-high 28 points, eight rebounds and four steals against Marist on Nov. 26

She is only the fifth Ivy League player since 2009-10 to have an 18-point, 20-rebound game. And after never averaging more than three rebounds a game in her first three seasons, the 6’ Egger paces the league in that category this season.

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