Princeton delivers early knockout blow to Penn

By The Associated Press

Bella Alarie anchored a stellar defensive effort as Princeton used an early knockout blow to win the Ivy League championship.

Alarie had 8 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks as the Tigers (24-5) held the Quakers (21-8) to just three points in the first quarter of the 6334 win in Philadelphia.

“That’s our first goal, defensive plan comes before our offensive plan,” said Alarie, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors of the tournament. “We just had such great defense today, helping each other, blocking shots. ... We definitely did put a big focus on our defense today.”

This is the Tigers third trip to the NCAA tournament in the past four seasons.

Princeton scored the game’s first eight points en route to a 19-3 lead after the first quarter. After Penn’s only basket of the period, Abby Meyers scored 11 consecutive points to close the quarter.

“Always want to come out strong and assert your will and utilize the energy of the crowd,” Princeton coach Courtney Banghart said.

“We wanted to utilize the momentum of their energy. ... We were very active coming out of locker room.”

Other tournaments

Patriot: Cecily Carl scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help top-seeded American (26-6) secure its second NCAA tournament bid with a 58-49 victory against Navy (25-7) in the championship game in Washington.

Missouri Valley: Nicole Miller, Sara Rhine and Maddy Dean, all reserves, each scored in double figures and top-seeded Drake (26-7) won its second consecutive conference tournament with a 75-63 win against visiting Northern Iowa (19-13).

Sun Belt: Monique Townson scored 17 points and top-seeded Little Rock (23-9) advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in program history with a 54-53 victory against Texas State (23-9).

Atlantic Sun: Rose Julien scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half and top-seeded Florida Gulf Coast (30-4) topped visiting Jacksonville (24-8), 68-58, for the conference title.

Southland: Tykeria Williams scored all 17 of her points in the second half, including the clinching free throw with four seconds left, as visiting Nicholls (1913) rallied to shock Stephen F. Austin (25-6), 69-65, in Katy, Texas

Big South: Ashtyn Baker scored all 12 of her points in the second quarter and host top-seeded Liberty (18-14) pulled away from UNC Asheville (23-10) to win the championship for the 17th time, 60-42.