Crimson Eyes Tiger Throne

The Harvard women’s basketball team is a program built on a history of success. With 11 Ivy League titles to its name, the team knows the road to a championship is never easy. But for the first time in over a decade, the Crimson will return to Lavietes Pavilion without a single player who has won a championship ring.

The most recent successes in the Ancient Eight have been dominated by Princeton. Over the past two years, the Tigers have gone 27-1 in Ivy League competition, with Harvard dealing Princeton its only conference loss last season.

After snagging two consecutive conference crowns, Princeton is the favorite to complete a three-peat, receiving 14 out of 17 first place votes in the preseason media poll, while the Crimson won the other three votes.

“What Princeton had last year was a team full of women who believed they could win,” Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith says. “That [belief] speaks volumes.”

With only one graduating starter, Princeton looks poised to continue the success that earned it a 24-5 record last year and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Leading the Tigers is senior guard Lauren Edwards. The four-year starter and two-time All-Ivy League selection comes into her senior season with 982 career points and will soon join the elite 1,000-point club. Edwards averaged 11.4 points and two assists per game last season. Fellow All-Ivy selection Devona Allgood will help Edwards offensively. The senior center contributed 11.9 points a game and led the Ancient Eight in rebounds per game with 7.2.

Princeton balances its strong offense with solid defensive play from Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Polansky. The junior guard produced 52 steals and 116 rebounds for the Tigers last season.

Rounding out Princeton’s starting five is former Rookie of the Year Niveen Rasheed, who returns for her junior season after a knee injury kept her on the bench for Ivy League competition last season.

“I’ve always thought Rasheed was a good player,” Delaney-Smith says. “But she is coming off of an ACL injury, so I don’t know [what to expect].”

Although this Princeton team seems very similar to the previous one, it loses Addie Micir, the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year, to graduation. Micir, who scored 1,188 points over her career, provided Delaney-Smith with a big challenge last year.

“Even though [Princeton lost] only one player, [Micir] was huge for them,” Delaney-Smith says. “[Micir was challenging] in the attention she commanded because she was probably one of the best shooters in the country. That changes the format of the floor.”

Additionally, Delaney-Smith believes the dynamic of the Tigers’ team has changed significantly since last season.

“[Princeton] lost some veteran seniors that I felt complemented the young, talented kids on the floor,” Delaney-Smith says. “They are not going to have that same dynamic.”

Delaney-Smith believes Harvard has the personnel to match up with Princeton’s squad but also notes that the Tigers’ experience and championship mentality make them a tough squad to beat.

“Princeton has that belief in themselves,” Delaney-Smith says. “But we believe in ourselves, too.”