Kicking Off March Madness, Ashley Chea ’27 to Lead Tigers Against Oklahoma State

Growing up in Los Angeles, Ashley Chea ’27 never had trouble finding opportunities to play basketball — on outdoor courts, at rec centers with her dad, or in practices with her high school and club teams. And the level of competition pushed her to keep working on her game. LA-area high schools have produced scores of recent college stars, including USC All-American JuJu Watkins and Princeton (and UConn) star Kaitlyn Chen ’24.  

“I think it shaped me to be who I am,” Chea told PAW. “Just being around so many great players has made me more motivated to want to be the best version of myself, because everywhere I look there’s another D-1 prospect that is gonna come and, you know, probably take over the basketball world.” 

Princeton’s trip to UCLA for this year’s NCAA Tournament will be a homecoming for three Tigers who played their high school basketball in the LA area: Chea (Flintridge Prep in La Cañada Flintridge), Skye Belker ’27 (Windward School in Los Angeles), and Emily Eadie ’28 (Sage Hill School in Newport Beach). Princeton faces Oklahoma State in the first round Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, with TV coverage on ESPN2. If the Tigers advance, they would likely play No. 1 seed UCLA in round two. 

Chea and Belker, who played together on the same club team, are part of a Princeton starting five that has essentially been the same all season. That continuity translated to a 26-3 record, including a 12-1 mark in nonconference play. “I think that this year, we’re just so connected on the court,” Chea said. “All the starters are upperclassmen, and we’ve just spent so much time together.” 

Chea’s father, Baov, introduced her to basketball, and her Cambodian-American family’s story was featured in a PBS documentary, Home Court, which aired in March 2025. This Saturday, Chea’s parents will be in the stands at a tournament game for the first time.  

“It’s really special,” Chea said, “and I think that we want to play for the people that are there watching and play for the University as well.” 

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Madison St. Rose

Kyle Hess

The tournament will also be the last time co-captain Madison St. Rose ’26 suits up for Princeton. St. Rose was on the court in 2023 when teammate Grace Stone ’23 made a late 3-pointer to beat N.C. State in the tournament’s first round. She scored 22 points in an opening-round loss to West Virginia in 2024, and after missing all but four games with a knee injury last year, she cheered from the bench when Princeton was edged by Iowa State.  

It was still exciting to be there, St. Rose said, even if her contributions were limited. “I didn’t get that rush of adrenaline like when I’m on the court,” she said. “I was more of a sideline coach, trying to just help the team, prepare them as much as possible, and give them energy.” 

That energy carried over into St. Rose’s rehab and return. She averaged a team-high 15.7 points per game and was among the team leaders in rebounds and assists as well. Her 18-point performance against Brown in the Ivy Madness semifinals was a key part of Princeton’s postseason so far. 

For the Tigers, having several capable scorers has been part of the recipe for success; all five starters score at least 10 points per game. “We don’t have one way to win, one way to score,” head coach Carla Berube said after Princeton’s win over Harvard in the Ivy Madness final. “We don’t have just one or two people that can do it, either. We are pretty deep in the offensive realm.” 

St. Rose said she sees the same makeup in the Oklahoma State lineup they’ll be facing. “I’ve watched them play, and they’re similar to us — they have a lot of scorers, one through seven,” she said. “We’re a high-volume scoring team and so are they.” 

More than half of the NCAA Tournament field comes from four conferences — the Big 10, SEC, ACC, and the Big 12. Princeton had wins against teams from the ACC (Georgia Tech) and Big 10 (Rutgers and Penn State) this year and a road victory at Big East runner-up Villanova, but Oklahoma State will be its first Big 12 opponent since last year’s loss to Iowa State. The Tigers, playing in their 13th NCAA Tournament, lead all Ivy League schools with wins in three first-round games (2015, 2022, and 2023).