SEEING DOUBLE: Princeton University women’s basketball player Ellie Mitchell, right, fakes out two defenders in recent action. Last Saturday, junior forward Mitchell scored eight points and had a game-high 14 rebounds in a losing cause as Princeton fell 67-59 at Harvard. The defeat snapped a 42-game conference winning streak as the Tigers’ last Ivy loss came on February 8, 2019 when they fell 96-86 to Yale. Princeton, now 8-4 overall and 0-1 Ivy, will look to get back on the winning track as it hosts Columbia on January 6 and Cornell on January 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

Ellie Mitchell is used to rebounding.

The Princeton University women’s basketball team is not.

Mitchell, the third-leading rebounder in the country, and the Tigers are looking to bounce back after suffering a 67-59 defeat at Harvard on Saturday. Their last Ivy loss came on February 8, 2019 when they fell 96-86 to Yale. The loss snapped their 42-game conference winning streak, and they will look to rebound with back-to-back home games against Columbia (12-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy) on January 6 and Cornell (8-6 overall, 1-0 Ivy) on January 7.

Princeton will lean on veterans like junior standout forward Mitchell as they look for their first Ivy win of the season. The loss at Harvard puts the Tigers in an early hole, and it will test the junior forward’s leadership in what is the most significant development in her role since last year.

“At this point, it’s year three for me, so I’ve been around it a bit more,” said Mitchell, a 6’1 native of Chevy Chase, Md.

“Some of these teams, I’ve played them before so I know how to play them. I’m just trying to talk them through and get them acclimated the same way I was fortunate to have with upperclassmen do the same thing for me. In that regard, it’s shifted a little.”

Mitchell has been as reliable as ever on the court. She paced Princeton with a game-high 14 rebounds in the loss at Harvard to raise her average to 12.3 rebounds per game, trailing only two others in the nation. She also had one of her better scoring games with eight points, even though early foul trouble limited her to 25 total minutes after averaging 36 minutes per game to start the year. The reigning Ivy Defensive Player of the Year has made her presence felt at that end as well, and her all-around effort sets the tone for the Tigers.

“You’re getting that every day in practice too,” said Princeton head coach Carla Berube. “It never wavers. You’re going to get all-out effort and a toughness. She makes her teammates around her play harder. She’s running the floor on every possession. She’s making her teammates have to do that. That consistency that she brings makes our program better. She’s intense. She’s that player you don’t want to play against because you have to work really hard to compete. I’m just happy she’s on our team and no one else’s.”

Mitchell was hampered by two fouls in the first quarter against the Crimson, but came back to help Princeton remain close throughout the final two quarters. Princeton tied the game, 13-13, with 3:14 left in the first quarter before Harvard scored the next 13 points to take and hold the lead for good. Princeton never got closer than three points the remainder of the way.

A basket by Mitchell cut the Harvard lead to 31-28 early in the third quarter. She cut the deficit to three points again with 8:00 left in the game on a layup. Princeton made it a three-point game one last time on a pair of free throws by Julia Cunningham, but a pair of Harvard free throws kept the Tigers at bay under new Crimson coach Carrie Moore, a former Princeton assistant coach.

“They have a lot of familiar faces from last season, a lot of great scorers,” said Berube. “With a new staff there, they’re playing a high level and playing some good defense. They have a lot of great weapons.”

Princeton was not able to duplicate some of the comeback energy in Cambridge, Mass., that it had displayed recently. The Tigers had made their contest at UConn on December 8 close with a late rally to fall by only five points. Princeton had a big comeback from a 15-point third-quarter deficit at Rutgers on December 15 to win by 12 points before the players started their exam break.

“Sometimes our best basketball has been when our backs are against the wall a bit and when we’re down,” said Berube. “I’m hoping we can play that way every game, whether we’re up 15 or down or it’s a tie game. All of a sudden, something clicks. It happened in the UConn game too. We got down by over 12, all of a sudden, we play with a different intensity and aggressiveness. That’s kind of what happened in Rutgers. They just looked at each other and said, ‘let’s go.’ Nothing fazes them. They’re not going to get down and out about themselves. They’re going to find a way to dig out and put up their best effort no matter who we’re playing and what the score is or how many we’re down. They’re going to fight to the finish.”

In its return to the court after exams, Princeton won a thriller as it edged Rhode Island 56-54 on Grace Stone’s buzzer-beating layup on December 28. The Tigers had trailed by five points with 2:35 left and pulled it out. Kaitlyn Chen continued as Princeton’s leading scorer with 21 points in that win and Parker Hill had a break-out game with 12 points in 15 minutes off the bench in the final non-conference game before Princeton played at Harvard.

“For starters, 1-15 I think we have a great team,” said Mitchell. “I think our coaches did a great job building us a tough non-conference schedule. It’s going to get us the game exposure we need to figure out here’s some of the spots where we’re lacking and we have to spend more time figuring out what works, what doesn’t work, and how we’re going to improve.”

Chen was the only Princeton player in double figures scoring against Harvard with 21 points again. Stone had nine points and Julia Cunningham had seven points. Harvard countered with three players in double digits led by Harmoni Turner and McKenzie Forbes’ 17 points apiece. Princeton continued with its newest lineup that has added Madison St. Rose as a starter for the last four games.

“At this point, if we’re not executing the way we need to, we’re going to be in tough shape in the Ivy League season,” said Mitchell. “I think we’ve handled our non-conference schedule pretty well. Obviously we’re trying to try some people out, different combinations and different lineups on the floor. It goes back to how we tweaked the starting lineup. Ultimately we’re getting more and more comfortable playing with each other and executing better and playing tough opponents. There’s always work to be done. We had this long break to focus on ourselves and get ready for the Ivy season. We’ll adjust as we go. There’s always room to improve.”

Mitchell has focused her development on the offensive end, where she has been a complementary player. She is scoring 5.5 points per game, just down from last year’s 6.2 points per game average. Her main contributions have come with rebounds and toughness defensively, contributions that the Tigers have come to expect.

“Rebounds, that’s definitely my favorite thing to do,” said Mitchell. “I want to try to get double digits every game. I think we need that. Defensively, I want to always bring that defensive presence, whether it’s get tips, get steals, or talking to my guards to let them know what’s going on on the floor if they can’t see. Offensively, I’m trying to get more comfortable. If I can get six to 10 points, I think that helps us a lot. That’s something I’m trying to do.”

Berube notes that Mitchell’s shot has improved and Princeton is hoping she can find more scoring opportunities as the season continues. The Tigers have also emphasized that she needs to budget her fouls so she can stay on the court for the maximum minutes, a challenging trick when she matches up against talented bigger players. She works to limit their size while doing her job. She has proven she can rebound against anyone.

“She’s hard to box out,” said Berube. “It’s like, where to find her? She has a knack for the ball. She’s not going to stay just in one place to go up and grab the ball. She’s going to work to go get it. I think it’s pretty frustrating for bigger post players to play against her.”

Mitchell has to be somewhat versatile in her on-court role. She plays either the center spot when she is the tallest Princeton player, or can slide to a more natural forward spot if the Tigers have a taller player like 6’3 Paige Morton on the floor.

“It’s not that big a difference,” said Mitchell. “In practice, we switch off running the four (power forward) and five (center) spot. Even if Paige is in, sometimes I run the five spot and she runs the four. Sometimes you get in those game situations where I beat her down the court so I’m in the five spot, so we’re not going to waste the time exchanging. There are other people coming in off the bench too. Chet Nweke has been playing the post. If me and her are in, I’m playing the five. We do a good job of preparing for all sorts of different situations. It’s probably a little harder for Grace Stone. When we’re going small, she’s the four. When we’re bigger, she’s a three (small forward). She has to know two (shooting guard) through five.”

Beyond Mitchell’s on-court contributions in statistics, she has accepted more of a leadership responsibility. She is helping to mold this year’s less experienced forwards, just as she was guided in her younger playing days.

“She had great leaders above her that she’s learned from,” said Berube. “She’s one of the veterans in the post. She’s done a great job of bringing the underclassmen along and showing them how it’s done. That’s one of the biggest areas of growth for her. The mental game, she’s been able to be steady and not let things move her one way or the other, bother her one way or the other. As a freshman, things could do that. She’s been really consistent with the mental aspect of the game.”

Mitchell remains steadiest with her rebounding. She has grabbed double-digit rebounds in eight of 12 games this year, though she’s typically giving up size in many of her matchups, particularly when the Tigers go small and start her at center.

“I think it’s a fun challenge; being undersized, it’s tough sometimes,” said Mitchell. “I also think there are ways to make up for it. If I’m playing a 6’3 or 6’4 girl, or even a 6’2 girl, usually I’m quicker than them so I try to bounce around, don’t let them seal me, don’t get pinned, kind of be pesky. I take pride in that, especially when these big girls expect to be able to bury you in the post and you’re not giving up and working around.”

It is not a solo effort for Mitchell as her teammates have played a key part in helping her pile up rebounding stats.

“Another huge factor has been my teammates, we have great team defense,” said Mitchell. “Our guards, if we know we have these mismatches, we practice for the days coming in that we’re going to dig opportunistically or double if we can. I know if I get stuck, I have one of my teammates there and they’re going to bail me out. It’s helped us hang around these bigger teams so far, so hopefully we can keep it up.”

The Tigers look to get back to winning when they face Columbia and Cornell in their first Ivy weekend. They play their final non-conference game January 12 when they host Hartford before finishing the Ivy regular season with 11 straight conference games in which they will need Ellie Mitchell to make her usual contributions on the floor as well as being a team leader.

“I’m an upperclassman so you’re naturally in that role more,” said Mitchell. “More of the young girls look up to you. On the court I’ve been playing more minutes, so it helps me be comfortable out there and just have a consistent presence. It’s been a new role to adjust to, but I’ve had fun with it.”