The challenge of reaching Ivy Madness is difficult enough, and Brown will face it shorthanded in this upcoming 2024-25 women’s basketball season.
Ada Anamekwe is out after suffering an offseason injury (undisclosed). Alyssa Moreland (undisclosed) is sidelined indefinitely ahead of the Nov. 4 opener at national power Indiana.
That’s the top rim protector and leading rebounder for the Bears, two juniors with considerable experience. Brown is already on the search for answers coming out of the league’s media day Thursday.
“People graduate every year,” Brown guard Grace Arnolie said. “People have illnesses and injuries. I think the only thing we can do is look forward.”
The Bears have their eyes trained on the league’s upper echelon — that’s the direction they’ve been going the last two seasons. Brown has improved from 1-13 to 4-10 to 7-7 in conference play, missing out on the top four last year only through a tiebreaker with Penn. The Bears and Quakers are expected to battle again over the next few months — they’re picked behind Princeton, Columbia and Harvard in the preseason polls.
“They’re hungry,” Brown coach Monique LeBlanc said. “There was heartbreak last year. Tears were shed. We felt very close but we also know we have growing to do.”
The Tigers and Lions both reached the NCAA Tournament last season and combined for all but one of the 16 first-place votes available. The Crimson grabbed the remaining prediction for the top spot while Yale, Cornell and Dartmouth took the final three places. Arnolie, Isabella Mauricio, Olivia Young, Gianna Aiello, Mady Calhoun and Beth Nelson all played in double-digit games last season, with Arnolie earning a second straight honorable mention all-Ivy honor.
“We all know what the standard is,” Mauricio said. “We know what the non-negotiables are. That’s controlling what we can control, showing up with energy and effort and hustling every day.”
Brown took an offseason trip to Portugal and Spain, an early look at how its lineup might come together ahead of that matchup with the Hoosiers. The Bears built confidence during their nonconference schedule last season with wins over Georgetown, Providence, Loyola Chicago, in-state rival Bryant, New Hampshire and San Diego. That paved the way for a best conference finish since closing 7-7 in 2016-17.
More: Brown men’s basketball enjoyed a magical run late last season? Can they do it again?
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“I think it was an opportunity to almost highlight their absence right away and for us to see how we’re going to make sure we step up here and become a really well-connected defensive unit,” LeBlanc said. “I want to give credit to all of our players who are doing that right now.”
Kyla Jones topped Brown in scoring last season and will spend a graduate year close to her Chicago home at Northwestern. That’s a third starter lost should Anamekwe and Moreland be unable to suit up throughout the campaign. The Bears would be forced into a more perimeter-oriented attack — Arnolie, Mauricio and Young connected on 157 of the team’s 193 made 3-pointers last season.
“Moving the ball really quickly,” Arnolie said. “Playing with pace. Playing with aggression and physicality. I think just focusing on those core values is essential to our success this season.”
Brown will host Ivy Madness for the first time at Pizzitola Center in March. The Bears men were picked third in their own preseason poll — that would be inside the group that qualifies for the postseason fun. Brown’s women are right on the cusp and would be included with another similar jump to the last two years.
“I don’t think this team needs any extra motivation or reminders,” LeBlanc said. “It’s clear. Here’s where we have to be better to go compete for a championship, and that’s our goal.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
