ANSWERING THE BELL: Princeton University women’s basketball player Bella Alarie drives to the hoop in a game earlier this season. Last weekend, freshman forward Alarie starred for Princeton as it competed in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament. On Saturday, Alarie piled up 17 points and 16 rebounds as Princeton defeated Harvard 68-47 in a semifinal contest. A day later, Alarie had 11 points and 11 rebounds in a losing cause as Princeton fell 57-48 to host Penn in the title game. Alarie and Tiger junior Leslie Robinson were named to the All-Tournament team. The Tigers, now 16-13, will take part in the Women’s National Invitational (WNIT) Tournament. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Before the Princeton University women’s basketball team faced Harvard in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals last Saturday, Courtney Banghart wrote three words on the blackboard in the locker room – heart, grit, and share.

The Tigers went out and displayed all three of those traits, jumping out to a 25-16 halftime lead over the Crimson on the way to a 68-47 triumph at the Palestra in Philadelphia.

“We shared the ball really well,” said Princeton head coach Banghart in a video of her postgame press conference posted on the Princeton athletics website.

“To go into a tournament game and know that your defense is locked down, you get to walk with ease. You don’t have to make shots. I have had some really good offensive teams and I wouldn’t put this group in that category yet but I knew what I was going to get. I knew it was going to be a real battle for Harvard to have to try to score against us.”

Princeton junior forward Leslie Robinson and her teammates were certainly ready to battle the Crimson.

“I think we just got a little bit of a gut check; we looked at each other and we said we are not losing to Harvard,” said Robinson, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the win.

“We are going to the championship. We worked together. We got stops on defense and that converted to our offense.”

A day later in the championship game, the Tigers showed guts but couldn’t overcome Penn, falling 57-48 to the Quakers, the league’s regular season champion. Robinson had nine points and three rebounds in the loss and made the All-Tournament team along with freshman star Bella Alarie, who had 17 points and 16 rebounds in the win over Harvard and then contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat to the Quakers.

With Princeton, now 16-13, finishing as the second place team in the Ivy League during the regular season, it will receive the conference’s bid to the Women’s National Invitational (WNIT) Tournament. The WNIT bracket was slated to be released on Monday evening after the NCAA Selection Show announcements.

Banghart, for her part, believes that her squad will keep fighting as it looks to extend its season for as long as possible.

“I have said all along, from the beginning of the year, that we were going to find out how far heart can take you,” said Banghart.

“This team is gritty, they have a lot of heart. Those things are non-negotiable for this group. I am just really proud of them.”