BOSTON -- It will be Princeton and Columbia squaring-off for the 2022 Ivy League Women’s Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon after the pair picked up semifinal wins on Friday. Harvard gave No. 24 Princeton everything they had, but it was not enough as the Tigers kept their unblemished Ivy League record in tact with a 72-67 victory. In the nightcap, it was Columbia who waltzed to an easy victory, beating Yale by a 67-38 score.
Tomorrow’s championship game will tip-off at 5:00 p.m. and be shown on both ESPNews and ESPN+.
No. 24 Princeton 72, Harvard 67
After a few lead changes to open the first quarter, Princeton used a 13-3 run to turn a 7-6 deficit into a 19-10 lead. But between the closing moments of the first quarter and the first six-plus minutes of the second quarter, Harvard not only closed the gap, but behind the long-range shooting of McKenzie Forbes and Lola Mullaney, they grabbed a seven-point lead, 32-25, with just over three minutes to play in the second quarter. Princeton, despite trailing late in the first half on their opponent’s home floor, did not waver and began to take back momentum. The Tigers used a combination of ball movement and increased defensive pressure to regain the lead and head to the locker rooms up 35-32.
Princeton rode the halftime momentum well into the third quarter as the Tigers opened up a 13 point lead, 52-39, with 4:07 left in the third quarter before settling for an eight-point advantage, 52-44, heading into the fourth quarter. Princeton scored 17 points in the third quarter, with Abby Meyers and Julia Cunningham combining for 15 of those points.
Harvard, once again, clawed their way back into the game and put Princeton’s chance at a three-peat very much in doubt. Harvard used a 15-2 run between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 54 apiece with 6:45 to play. On the ensuing Princeton possession, however, Kaitlyn Chen came up with a crucial three-point play, halting the Harvard run and putting Princeton back on top. That three-point play was followed by baskets by Ellie Mitchell and Julia Cunningham, and within a blink of an eye, the Tigers were back up by seven with just under five minutes left to play. Harvard kept the game close and Mullaney’s three-pointer with 34 seconds left did make it a one-point game at 68-67, but after Chen made a pair of free throws, McKenzie Forbes could not knock-down the game-tying three and after another two free throws, Princeton advanced with the 72-67 victory.
Meyers and Forbes tied for the game high and led their respective teams with 22 points. Princeton had four of five starters finish with double-figure points and the Tigers’ Mitchell was the only player on the floor to record a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Columbia 67, Yale 38
Columbia jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game and kept piling it on as the Lions led 22-5 after the first quarter of play. Yale made two of their first five shots to open the second quarter in an attempt to show some life in the second semifinal game of the day, but Columbia used another run, this time an 11-4 stretch, to break open a 24-point advantage. The teams traded baskets in the final minute as the Lions, up 39-15, took that 24-point lead into halftime.
Columbia extended their lead in the second half, growing it to 30 twice in the fourth quarter before finishing the game with a 28-point victory.
The Lions held Yale to just 25 percent shooting on the night while shooting nearly 46 percent themselves. Jaida Patrick posted a game-high 23 points on 11-of-13 shooting while Abbey Hsu was the only other player in double-figures with 18 points and four three-pointers. As a team, Columbia had 18 assists on 27 made baskets with Kaitlyn Davis and Kitty Henderson each recording five.