November 4, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: 2024-25 Ivy League preview
By The Next
Beat reporter Jenn Hatfield joins Natalie Heavren to preview the Ivy League season
Welcome to the start of the college basketball season! Let’s kick it off with a Locked On Women’s Basketball Ivy League preview from beat reporter Jenn Hatfield and host Natalie Heavren. And while we’re at it, make sure you don’t miss Hatfield’s written preview of what to expect from the conference this season.
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They start the conversation with Princeton and Columbia, who were picked at the top of the preseason poll. Princeton advanced to the NCAA Tournament with the conference’s automatic bid a year ago and Columbia earned an at-large selection.
“Both teams are still expected to be really good, there are just maybe a few more question marks about each team than we’ve had in the past couple seasons based on some key losses for both teams,” Hatfield said. “Columbia returns a little bit more than Princeton does. But you can bet on two great coaches, Princeton’s Carla Berube and Columbia’s Megan Griffith, to figure it out with their respective teams, and have both teams in contention for a regular season title and Ivy tournament title.”
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Among the players to watch this season, Hatfield mentioned Princeton sophomores Ashley Chea, Skye Belker and Mari Bickley as well as junior Tabitha Amanze as they slot into the new lineup. For Columbia, she tabbed sophomore guard Riley Weiss.
“Megan Griffith had said last year that she expected Riley to be the next great shooter in Columbia women’s basketball history, which no pressure Riley,” Hatfield said. “I think Weiss is ready to kind of assume that mantle and step up in that way.”
So, is it just a two-team race? Hatfield said Harvard and Harmoni Turner also have a real chance to contend this season.
“A lot of folks who don’t follow the league super closely, either think this is Princeton’s League, which is not entirely false, given their streak of titles, or they think it’s Princeton and Columbia’s league based on recent history, but the league is so much deeper than that,” Hatfield said. “I really think that Harvard can challenge and potentially win the title. They bring back the most minutes and points of any team in the league.”
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