Princeton finishes No. 22 in final AP poll
The Princeton University women’s basketball team never got the chance to find out how truly special this season’s team could be.
Instead of a prolonged run in the NCAA Tournament — canceled like so many other events because of the COVID-19 pandemic — first-year coach Carla Berube’s Tigers will settle for a final ranking of No. 22 in the Associated Press poll.
Princeton finished the regular season 26-1 overall (14-0 Ivy) and on a 22game winning streak, the second longest behind No. 1 South Carolina. The Tigers also boasted the No. 9 RPI, the highest of any tea in Ivy League history.
ESPNW slotted Princeton in as a No. 6 seed in its final bracket. The NCAA declined to release a bracket for either the men’s or women’s field.
“With the magnitude of this worldwide issue, we understand the decision to cancel the NCAA Tournament in order to protect the teams, coaches and everyone involved,” Berube said at the time the NCAA Tournament was called off. “That being said, our team is sad to find out that our season is ending under these difficult circumstances. Bella (Alarie) and Taylor (Baur) have been fantastic leaders and to see their careers at Princeton reach a conclusion like this is heartbreaking. It was truly a privilege to coach them. In the end, I am so proud of what our players and staff accomplished in achieving one of the greatest seasons in Ivy League history.”
Senior Bella Alarie completed her career as just the third player to earn Ivy League Player of the Year three times after she was the unanimous selection this season. Junior guard Carlie Littlefield was also a First Team selection and Berube was the Coach of the Year.
Alarie averaged 17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.4 blocks in 23 games this season. She finished her brilliant career as the program’s all-time leader in points (1,703), double-doubles (40), blocks (249) and Ivy League Player of the Week awards (20).
“This award caps off an amazing four-year career and places her among an elite group of Ivy women’s basketball players,” Berube said. “She has been both unselfish and dominant this season.”
Dawn Staley and South Carolina were No. 1 in the final AP poll for the first time in school history. The Gamecocks received 26 first-place votes from the national media panel in voting released Tuesday. No. 2 Oregon garnered the other four votes. Baylor, Maryland and UConn rounded out the first five.
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Record
South Carolina (26) 32-1 Oregon (4) 31-2 Baylor 28-2 Maryland 28-4 UConn 29-3 Louisville 28-4 Stanford 27-6 NC State 28-4 Mississippi St. 27-6 UCLA 26-5 Northwestern 26-4 Arizona 24-7 Gonzaga 28-3 Oregon St. 23-9
Pts
746 724 676 654 642 588 560 543 505 501 394 385 359 321
Pvs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 11 14
15. DePaul 28-5 298
16. Kentucky 22-8 283
17. South Dakota 30-2 259
18. Texas A&M 22-8 246
19. Florida St. 24-8 239
20. Indiana 24-8 194
21. Iowa 23-7 174
22. Princeton 26-1 163
23. Missouri St. 26-4 121
24. Arkansas 24-8 97
25. Arizona St. 20-11 31 Others receiving votes: TCU 11, Ohio St. 10, Boston College 6, Marquette 5, Rutgers 4, Florida Gulf Coast 3, Texas 2, Boise St. 2, Iowa St. 2, Duke 1, Cent Michigan 1. 15 16 17 19 18 20 21 22 23 24 25