Here’s why Princeton women’s basketball will do even better than last year

There’s no doubt about it – the Princeton women’s basketball team had an unbelievable season in 2015. Just don’t be surprised if they do even better this year.

Sure, the Tigers won more games than any Ivy League team in history, sweeping the conference and continuing on to complete a jaw-dropping 30-0 record. And sure, they became the second Ivy League team ever to win an NCAA tournament game. But the best of Princeton women’s basketball is yet to come.

The USA Today Coaches Poll was recently released on ESPN.com, and ranks the Tigers at 25th in the nation. At this time last year, they were no where to be found on that list–they weren’t even included in the 25 teams who missed the cutoff but received votes. But by the time the NCAA Tournament started, the 30-0 Princeton squad had climbed to No. 13 in the country.

The Tigers’ only loss of the season came in the Big Dance to No. 3 Maryland, who ended up advancing all the way to the Final Four. Now, even after making a mockery of preseason expectations while producing one of the best seasons in the history of college basketball, they’re being overlooked again.

Even President Obama loves Princeton women’s hoops. Here he is witnessing greatness.

While Princeton will have their work cut out for them replacing last year’s senior captain and leading scorer Blake Dietrick, most of the nuts and bolts that kept the Ivy Champion Tigers together are still intact.

First things first, they still have the best head coach in the country. Courtney Banghart–who set the all-time three-point record at Dartmouth in her past life–has led the Tigers to three undefeated Ivy seasons and five Ivy League championships in the last five years. After the 2015 season, Banghart was awarded the Naismith College Coach of the Year and even made Fortune Magazine’s list of the world’s 50 greatest leaders.

In the last six years, head coach Courtney Banghart has gone 79-6 in the Ivy League

Under Banghart, the team is returning a ridiculous amount of talent and experience. Last season, the Tigers had an uncanny five players shooting over 50% from the field; with the exception of the now graduated forward Mariah Smith, all of them are back this year.

Junior guard Vanessa Smith, senior forward Alex Wheatley, senior guard Amanda Bernsten, and senior forward Taylor Williams shot 57%, 56%, 55%, and 54% respectively, accounting for more than 30 points per game.

Senior guard Amanda Bernsten shot 55 percent from the field last season

Together with seniors Michelle Miller and Annie Tarakchian, who averaged 11.6 and 10.3 points last year respectively, Princeton’s offense already has a strong core of efficient veterans. Last season, Tarakchian and Miller ranked first and second in the Ivy League for three-point shooting percentage, while Tarakchian was also second in rebounds.

Having graduated just four seniors and only one starter, this experienced Princeton unit is poised to improve on last year’s already remarkable performance. Sure, they may drop a game or two along the way–putting together back-to-back undefeated seasons over the course of 60 contests is almost impossible.

But this is a deep roster with seniors who have now played in the NCAA tournament three different times and finally learned what it takes to win there.

Their bout against last year’s bulletproof Maryland squad was impressive, but the Terps demonstrated how valuable big game experience is as they pulled away in the second half. With more of that experience now under their belts, the Tigers have a serious shot at making a deep run in the postseason tournament.

Princeton kicks off their season this Friday against American University in Jadwin Gym. The last time they lost there was March 11th, 2014.

Last year’s historic run was certainly special, and it’s understandable that not many people expect the Tigers to match that level of success. But shattering expectations is something that Banghart and her girls have become accustomed to doing.