The Joy Of Sport

TigerBlog was going to start today with the Princeton-Columbia women's basketball game (start time tomorrow is 4 in Jadwin), and he'll get to it shortly. 

First, though, there's the matter of Beth Yeager and the U.S. field hockey team. You know what they're doing this morning? Playing a game against another team that has already qualified for the Olympic Games. 

You know what they aren't doing? Playing the dreaded "win-or-don't-go-to-Paris" game and dealing with all of the pressure that comes with it.

The Americans came really, really close to having to do the latter. Playing in its semifinal yesterday against Japan, the United States got two goals three minutes apart late in the fourth quarter to rally for a 2-1 win, earning a spot int the tournament final and, more importantly, clinching its spot in the Olympics.

Princeton field hockey is, of course, represented on the U.S. team by Yeager, who took this year off from school to compete for an Olympic berth. The Americans almost got there in the Pan Am Games last fall, only to lose on a goal in the final two minutes to Argentina. 

They made it anyway, though, going through the Olympic qualifying tournament in India, sweeping three group stage games and then winning in the semifinals. The final will affect seeding, but that's it. The Americans will be in Paris.

If you want to see the pure joy that can come out of athletic competition, it's obvious in any of the photos that were on the TFH Instagram page yesterday. Here's a sample:

That's Yeager, who is all smiles. And why wouldn't she be? This was not an easy task, as the 12th-ranked Americans already have beaten three teams (No. 6 India, No. 9 Japan and No. 11 New Zealand) who are ranked ahead of them.

Yeager, by the way, will be back next year as a junior after being a first-team All-American in both of her first two seasons with the Tigers. 

Okay, and now TB can get to Princeton-Columbia women's basketball, which, again, tips off tomorrow at 4 pm in Jadwin Gym. Much like Yeager and her teammates' celebration, sports can also bring with it a joy from the competition itself, and that's what tomorrow's game is all about. Well, that, and the Ivy League race.

Here are a few facts from the game:

* Princeton has won eight straight games
* Columbia has won 10 straight games
* Princeton and Columbia are the only unbeaten teams in the league (both are 3-0)
* Princeton and Columbia shared the Ivy title a year ago (Princeton won the Ivy tournament to reach the NCAA tournament, while Columbia played in the WNIT)
* Columbia averages 77 points per game; Princeton allows 57 points per game

This is the first meeting between the teams this season. The second, and if there is to be a third, will both be in Columbia's Levien Gym, since Columbia is the host for the Ivy League tournament this March.

By the way, each team won on the other's home court a year ago.

It's really early in the Ivy League women's basketball race, with only three of 14 games played for each team. The standings, though, are starting to take shape.

Right now, behind Princeton and Columbia, you have Brown, Penn and Harvard all at 2-1, followed by 0-3 Cornell, Yale and Dartmouth. The top four will advance to Columbia to chase the automatic bid.

So far this year, Princeton has won its Ivy games by 41, 23 and 23 points. Columbia has won by 13, 29 and 36.

There are five players in Ivy League women's basketball who average 15 points per game, and three of them will be on Carril Court tomorrow: Columbia's Abbey Hsu, the league leader at 21.4, and Princeton's Madison St. Rose (15.7) and Kaitlyn Chen (15.3).A sub-plot for the game is that Princeton's Ellie Mitchell enters the game with 993 rebounds, leaving her seven away from becoming the third Princeton basketball player ever with 1,000. The other two? Bill Bradley had 1,008, and Margaret Meier had 1,099. That's the list.

Beyond the women's basketball game, there's a very busy weekend for Princeton Athletics. By TB's count, there are 13 teams who will compete this weekend.

You can see the full schedule HERE.