TITLE DRIVE: Princeton University women’s basketball player Kaitlyn Chen, left, drives past a foe in recent action. Last Saturday, senior guard Chen enjoyed a special finale at Jadwin Gym, tallying 19 points with a career-high 11 assists and seven rebounds to help Princeton defeat Penn 72-55 and clinch a tie for the Ivy League regular season title with Columbia. The Tigers, now 23-4 overall and 13-1 Ivy, will compete in the Ivy Madness postseason tournament this weekend at Columbia’s Levien Gym in New York City. Princeton is seeded first and will face fourth-seeded Penn in a semifinal contest on March 15. The victor will play the winner of the Columbia-Harvard semi on Saturday in the title game for the league’s automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA tournament. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Kaitlyn Chen’s final game at Jadwin Gym for the Princeton University women’s basketball team started with smiles and hugs as she was honored in the program’s annual Senior Day ceremony last Saturday afternoon.

Senior point guard Chen was joined by her family who traveled from Southern California, along with classmates Chet Nweke and Ellie Mitchell and their families.

“It was really special to be with them, this school is just amazing and it is surrounded by such great people,” said Chen, a 5’9 native of San Marino, Calif. “I am just lucky to be here and be able to celebrate this with them.”

As Princeton hosted Penn in the regular season finale, there turned out to be a lot to celebrate for the Tigers as they pulled away to a 72-55 win and clinched a share of the Ivy League regular season title along with Columbia. It marked the sixth straight Ivy regular season title for the program and 18th overall.

Princeton, now 23-4 overall and 13-1 Ivy, will compete in the Ivy Madness postseason tournament this weekend at Columbia’s Levien Gym in New York City. Princeton is seeded first and will face fourth-seeded Penn in a semifinal contest on March 15. The victor will play the winner of the Columbia-Harvard semi on Saturday in the title game for the league’s automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA tournament.

In the wake of the title-clinching triumph, there were more smiles and hugs in a postgame celebration as confetti streamed down on the players as they held up the Ivy championship trophy, posed for photos, and cut down the net one by one.

“It is amazing,” said Chen. “It is so special when you get to do it with this group of people.”

Chen produced a special performance against the Quakers, tallying 19 points with a career-high 11 assists and seven rebounds and was later named the Ivy Player of the Week.

“It was just a lot of fun,” said Chen, reflecting on her performance. “People were just getting into the right spots, it was easy to find them. Once we got on a run, it felt like everything was flowing.”

The Tigers reeled off a 13-0 run to start fourth quarter to subdue the Quakers.

“That was great, we locked in on defense,” said Chen. “We talk about it all of the time — defense wins us games and that was what we had to rely on Penn is a great team. We knew they were going to give us their best. We just has to step up to the occasion, start getting stops and take over.”

Over the years, Chen has relied heavily on her classmates. “Those are some of my best friends probably for life,” said Chen. “Chet was like my first friend here, we have done everything together. She is like my person and then Ellie has come. She joined our class and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”

Those bonds have been highlights of Chen’s Princeton experience.

“I will just be grateful for all of the memories I have made here and all of the friendships and relationships that I have grown and developed,” said Chen. “Those will be with me the rest of my life.”

After Chen left the Jadwin court for the last time with 38 seconds left in the game, she hugged the Tiger coaches one by one.

“With the help of our coaching staff, [Carla] Berube, LB (Lauren Battista), and LD (Lauren Dillon), all of them have just instilled so much confidence in me as a player and helped me grow so much,” said Chen, the Ivy League Player of the Year last season who has now scored 1,224 points in her Princeton career. “They have been there with me for everything and supported me and guided me through this journey.”

As a senior captain this winter, Chen has focused on guiding the squad’s younger players through their journey.

“I feel like we have built relationships throughout the season with the underclassmen and the trust that we have with them,” said Chen. “It helps so much. The connections we have on the court results from what we have off the court.”

Princeton head coach Berube credits her trio of seniors with making a huge impact on the program.

“It is hard to put into words, Ellie has been here the whole time I have been here,” said Berube. “I could not have had a better player and leader with the way that she can impact a game defensively and the blue collar work that she puts in. It is every day in practice. Chet and Kaitlyn came in and hit the ground running. They are great leaders, great friends, and great teammates. They lead by example every single day. We will be sad when they are gone. They have a few more weeks, they have a really great legacy here.”

Berube knew that the Tigers were going to get a great challenge from a scrappy Quaker squad.

“They are a very good team, they have great young guard play,” said Berube. “Stina Almqvist and Jordan Obi are tough inside, they can score at all three levels. They can hit threes, taking it to the rim, and hit mid-range shots. They are hard, they are tough and they are well coached. We knew it wasn’t going to be any walk in the park today.”

Princeton was ultimately able to wear down the Quakers. “It was just toughness defensively,” said Berube. “We were getting great ball pressure, making them turn the ball over a little bit and getting them back on their heels. It was just us turning it up a little bit. We were defending some actions a little bit better. We wanted to win this championship so we certainly found a way.”

Chen turned it up when out counted. “She rises up in the biggest of times, in the biggest of games; we knew she wasn’t going to allow an Ivy League championship slip through her fingers,” said Berube of Chen, who is averaging 15.6 points and 5.0 assists a game this season. “She was making great plays for her teammates and for herself. I think she read the floor really well tonight.”

Sophomore guard Madison St. Rose had a great game against the Quakers, tallying a game-high 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.

“Maddie certainly started this game off on fire — she was en fuego,” said Berube. “It was really fun to see her get her groove back a little bit. She is having a great season, we are going to need her in New York City.”

Seeing the Tigers earn another league title was certainly fun for Berube.

“It is awesome to have coached four years here and have four championships, that is what I want for all of my players,” said Berube. “It doesn’t always happen and we don’t take it for granted. That is why we definitely will celebrate this one.”

Looking ahead to round three with the Quakers in Ivy Madness, Berube believes her squad is in a good place.

“We have had some really good practices and people are stepping up,” said Berube, whose team topped Penn 67-54 on February 10 in their first regular season meeting. “We have got a good balanced attack, so I am looking forward to the game on Friday. We know we have that one and hopefully if things do well, we will play on Saturday as well.”

Chen, for her part, is confident that the Tigers will step up in Ivy Madness.

“They are a great team, but we are looking forward to it,” said Chen. “It will be another great battle. Hopefully we continue to stick to what we are good at and we will be able to lock it down. We are just going to take it one game at a time and give it our all.”