Princeton’s Alarie Ivy POY for second straight season
Bella Alarie is well on her way to becoming the most decorated women’s basketball player in Ivy League history.
The Princeton junior earned her second of what will likely be three straight Ivy Player of the Year awards on Wednesday.
Alarie had a fantastic season after she returned from a broken right arm that cost her the first nine games. She went on to average 23 points and 10.7 rebounds per contest.
Alarie posted 24.5 points and 11.7 rebounds in 14 Ivy games as the Tigers (20-9, 12-2) went on to win the regular-season title for the 14th time overall and seventh time under head coach Courtney Banghart.
Twice Alarie scored over 40 points in a game, including an Ivy League record 45 in a victory over Columbia.
“To be able to accomplish this in an Ivy League game means a lot more because I know these games matter a lot more to my team,” Alarie said after her record-setting performance. “Our ultimate goal is to win the Ivy League championship, get a ring and go to the (NCAA) tournament. I just played my heart out and my teammates found me where I could score.”
Alarie got plenty of help from sophomore guard Carlie Littlefield (13.9 points, 3.0 assists), who joins her as first team All-Ivy. The other first team selections were Cornell’s Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, Yale’s Roxy Barahman, Harvard’s Katie Benzan and Penn’s Eleah Parker.
Columbia’s Sienna Durr was named Rookie of the Year, Parker was Defensive Player of the Year and Penn’s Mike McLaughlin was Coach of the Year.
Princeton faces fourth-seeded Cornell (12-13, 6-8) in the Ivy semifinals at 6 p.m. on Saturday in New Haven, Conn.