BACK IN ACTION: Princeton University women’s basketball player Madison St. Rose dribbles past a Columbia player in a 2023-24 game. Senior guard St. Rose, who was sidelined most of last winter due to an early-season knee injury, is back for her final campaign for Princeton. The Tigers tip off their 2025-26 campaign by playing at Georgia Tech on November 9. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
With a roster of just 11 players, the Princeton University women’s basketball team lacks strength in numbers and due to graduation and transfer losses, it doesn’t have anyone taller than 6’2.
But the Tigers do welcome back star guard Madison St. Rose who was sidelined most of last winter due to an early-season knee injury.
“She is full speed, she looks great,” said Berube. “I don’t think she is 100 percent of what she was but is well on the way there. She will be ready to go. You have to think about her load, you can’t go from 0 to 100. She is ramping up, the knee is doing great. She was here just about every weekday this summer working with our trainer and our strength and conditioning coach to get back out there. She was really committed to her physical therapy and getting back in shape.”
St. Rose, for her part, is excited to get back into the fray. “I feel really good, I feel a lot stronger than my old self,” said St. Rose. “The athletic trainer and my coaches were saying that I look more powerful in my movements which is always a good sign So now, it is adjusting to the new build that I have and using it to my advantage. It was hard to watch my team play without me, just because it looked like everyone was having a lot of fun. This year is a new season and I am happy to be back. I am excited to play the last year with the girls.”
Berube is happy with how her squad has approached the preseason as it prepares to tip off the season by playing at Georgia Tech on November 9.
“The vibe is great, preseason has been fun; we have a couple of new faces but we have a lot of good experience,” said Berube, who guided the Tigers to a 21-8 record last year as the program made its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.
“The energy is great, they are working hard. I think we are taking steps forward every day and they are competing really hard. The practices have been challenging and competitive.
With its lack of height, Princeton will be employing a four-guard alignment as it looks to play up-tempo but still maintain its customary defensive prowess.
“I think we will be able to really spread the floor and get space and everybody can shoot the ball,” said Berube. “I don’t want to give up 80 points. I think we will be able to put some points on the board. Defense is going to be key because we don’t have 6’4, 6’5 players inside to block shots and deter any shots in there. I think we do have good perimeter defenders and players are working hard inside. We will make it work.”
Junior guards Skye Belker (13.0 points and 2.1 rebounds on 2024-25) and Ashley Chea (12.6 points, 3.2 rebounds) figure to give the Tigers some good work.
“They look great, they are leaders now,” said Berube. “They are really important pieces out there. They are an experienced backcourt that can really handle the basketball. Skye is doing a little more handling it as a point guard.”
Two other juniors, Fadima Tall (10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds) and Olivia Hutcherson (4.2 points, 4.3 rebounds), will also be play an important role this winter.
“With the experience they had last year they have come in … and hit the ground running,” said Berube, noting that Tall may see some time at center in the four-guard alignment. “There is toughness that Fadima plays with defensively, getting her hands in with lots of deflections and tie-ups. She is a great rebounder and then she can spread the floor really well because she can shoot outside and also out the ball on the floor and go to the rim. She is a tough matchup, especially if she is playing the five (center).”
In addition to Tall, senior Taylor Charles (1.7 points, 1.6 rebounds) and sophomore Emily Eadie (1.6 points, 0.9 rebounds) will get some time in the post.
“Taylor has stepped up and Emily has had a really great preseason as well,” said Berube. “I am excited for those players to emerge with bigger minutes.”
Sophomore guard Toby Nweke (2.7 points, 1.6 rebounds) is poised to step up.
“Toby has had a really great preseason, she is making shots and also doing a great job on the defensive side and rebounding,” said Berube. “We are getting on her to get in there for offensive boards the way her sister (former Tiger star Chet Nweke) used to get offensive boards. She is just a pure knockdown 3-point shooter.’
St. Rose has gotten up to speed quickly in the preseason. “I have been playing with a lot of the girls, especially the juniors for the past three years, I feel very comfortable with them” said St. Rose, a 5’10 native of Old Bridge, who averaged 17.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in her four appearances last winter before getting injured.
“Even though I wasn’t really playing a lot last year, I still tried to make a presence of myself by teaching them a lot of the stuff that they probably weren’t used to. They all know my playing style and I know theirs too. In the beginning it was an adjustment for me but now it is very smooth. Everything is going really well.”
In the view of St. Rose, things have been going very well overall for the Tigers as they have prepared for the season.
“The vibes have been really good, everyone is just so excited to be back,” said St. Rose. “We are all competing so hard, we know that we don’t have that much height. We don’t have 6’5 players any more but that just motivates us to go even harder and make it challenging for each other so when game time comes, we are more prepared.”
Princeton is prepared to run and gun with its bevy of star guards.
“One through five everyone can score,” said St. Rose. “We are really effective because we are all playmakers. Our plays are very short, like get into the offense and from there it is play. We can facilitate and we can also kick out with a lot of shooters. The floor is very spaced out and we can all just shine in our position.”
It may take a while for the Tigers to shine at the defensive end.
“We are just learning a new defensive style that fits the people we have on the team,” said St. Rose. “It is a little bit different from last year. We have been grinding at it every single day, striving to get the hang of it. I think our defensive style is going to work put to our advantage. We are applying a lot of ball pressure this year again since we don’t have the height. We are really going to be out three trying to get into the passing lanes and pressure the ball as much as possible try to get steals. Our team is very athletic. We are very fast, we are going to try to speed teams up.”
Berube believes that playing some tough teams in the early going will steel her squad for Ivy play.
“We are playing who wants to play us so it is hard just to schedule,” said Berube. “We are going to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech because Olivia Hutcherson is from Atlanta. We are going to Maryland and also George Mason because we have Maryland players with Toby and Fadima. We are going to the Bahamas to play Penn State and your usual Villanova, Rutgers. It is super challenging but I think that does get us ready for the Ivy League.”
In Berube’s view, the Tigers will be up for those challenges.
“We have to stay healthy, we don’t have big numbers in our roster size so saying healthy is going be key,” said Berube. “I think it is just developing the chemistry that we need to be successful. Defensively it is going to be a work in progress. I think one of the big keys is rebounding. We don’t have anyone 6’4 inside so it is going to be a team responsibility. Everybody has to get in there on both ends.”
St. Rose, for her part, is looking to give her local fans a lot to cheer about this winter as she gets back on the court.
“It is extremely nice just to be in the state that I grew up in; I have so many supporters and so many people that have come to the games,” said St. Rose. “So many people that are excited for me to be back and said they are going to come because it is my last year here. It is really nice to see all of the support I have throughout the years.”