Jenn Hatfield

@jennhatfield.bsky.social

1735 Followers 383 Following

Managing editor, Washington Mystics beat reporter and Ivy League beat reporter at The IX Basketball. Also have a day job.

Across the Timeline data on historic team ages
Across the Timeline data on the ages of WNBA teams this season
“It's tough to break those two up. They're like peas in a pod … so it'll be weird for them. I'm sure it will be weird for them. They'll be competitive in the moment, I'm sure, but they embrace being teammates. I think they have a real love and joy for partnering up.”
“I’d say Rori is certainly not out of the question. There's only 40 minutes in a game, so it's not — not everybody's development hinges on game minutes, and that's something that we're crystal clear on. That's why we pour into them so much, so that when those moments do come, they are game ready. And so game to game, you're more than likely going to see Georgia [Amoore] and Alicia [Flórez] out there, but when Rori's time comes, it's our job and our joy to have her ready for those moments, and that's that's pretty much everyone up and down the roster.”
A table showing which WNBA teams are playing the most and least five-player lineups per game, plus the share of minutes that each team's most-used lineup is playing. Four teams are using 14 or more lineups per game: Portland, Connecticut, Indiana and Washington. And at the other end of the spectrum, Las Vegas and New York are both using fewer than eight.
A graphic showing the Mystics' opening-night roster, including two developmental players. The 14 players on the roster are: Georgia Amoore, Shakira Austin, Lauren Betts, Sonia Citron, Angela Dugalić, Alicia Flórez, Rori Harmon, Kiki Iriafen, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Cotie McMahon, Lucy Olsen, Michaela Onyenwere, Cassandre Prosper and Alex (Ally) Wilson.
The Washington Mystics, including special advisor Elena Delle Donne, huddle on the court to draw up a play in practice
“I mean, good for Carla, right? Congrats, Carla. That's what, I shot her a text right away and just said congrats. She just said she's always rooting for us. “I obviously have tremendous respect for how she's run the Princeton program the last seven years. And she's got a tall task ahead of her at Northwestern, which I'm sure she's excited to attack. But yeah, I think just like anything, there's always change, and we're going to be ready for whoever is going to take over the helm at Princeton next. But I'm happy for her. That's all I can say.”
Princeton guard Ashley Chea has a sticker in her right hand. She holds it up at head level, preparing to slap it on a black posterboard that displays the Ivy League Tournament bracket. Behind her, guard Madison St. Rose and head coach Carla Berube are among the people looking on.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
“That defense in that Super Bowl was, I mean, wowsers. Drake Maye couldn't do anything until like the last five minutes of the game. So I obviously used that as, defense will win you championships if you allow it to and [will] put you in a position to compete, regardless [of] if you're scoring the ball or not, if you can get stops. So that was my reference on Monday.”
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
Columbia seniors Perri Page and Susie Rafiu pose for a photo in their new alternate uniforms, which are gray with white and blue accents.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
Princeton head coach Carla Berube is interviewed at halftime. She’s wearing a black sweater with a retro Princeton tiger mascot on it.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
“Really feeling and thinking of Mo and Brown and just their program, their athletic department, their university. … Monday morning, we had a film session, and [I] just really started it with, you know, it's our sister school. Our players have a lot of friends on that campus. I would call Mo a friend, and our assistants are close with some of their assistants. And so to just think of that being their reality right now is just really hard to swallow. And it … happened in an econ[omics] study session, and Gabby Anderson on our team constantly talks about her econ class and just how difficult it is, and she's constantly going to those type of things to prepare for her class. So I just — I don't know. It just really hit me pretty hard and just kind of shook me over the weekend, and just praying for them and really hoping that their campus community can recover from something like this.”
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
"It doesn't need to be this way. Sending thoughts and prayers to my teammates who have kids there. To the parents who have to worry about their children...we're the only country that lives this way. The college football cycle has been in the news a million times, and are we going to report about this? Like it's the guns. We're the only country that lives this way," said Gottlieb while fighting back tears. She continued, "Parents should not have to be worried about their kids. I have a teammate who has a daughter who is in the basement of the library because she doesn't know what's going on there, and she's flying there tomorrow." Before commenting on the Trojan's performance against the Huskies, Gottlieb emphasized, "Hopefully everyone is safe and praying for peace for those that have lost people. And that's that, it's more important than basketball. We can all be better."
A line graph showing the NCAA NET rankings week-to-week for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams.
Harvard women’s basketball does stretching and shooting drills in warmups.
Shakira Austin shoots a free throw as Alysha Clark looks on.
“I saw that I broke the record. So I wanted to just pay homage to her, and just, she's done so much, and especially being a Mystic. So just wanted to give her a salute. We see her, we acknowledge her, and it's just such an honor to be able to be in the same sentence as her. So I wanted to just show my love.”
A table showing various age gaps between the Washington Mystics and the rest of the WNBA in 2024 and 2025. The Mystics were the youngest team in the league both years, but the gaps are much larger in 2025. For example, the 2025 Mystics have an average age of 25.02 years, which is 3.04 years younger than the median team in the WNBA this season.
Washington Mystics rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron stand in the tunnel at one corner of the court. They are signing autographs for fans, who are leaning over the railings with items to be signed.
A stacked bar chart showing what share of the Washington Mystics' shot attempts come at certain points in a possession: in the first eight seconds, between nine and 16 seconds in, between 17 and 24 seconds in, and more than 24 seconds in. The chart shows that the share of shots the Mystics are taking in the first eight seconds in 2025 is not much different from the share in 2024.
“She walks into a situation that any kid would be intimidated by. I'm walking into UConn and I've got Paige Bueckers over here and Azzi Fudd over here and I've got this guy here. And now I'm going to walk in and I'm going to go, ‘OK, give me the ball. I'm in charge.’ That takes a lot of guts to be able to do that. One thing that I know: The Princeton players, they're tough and they're full of guts because they have to be to get to where they want to go.”
“It meant a lot. First of all, I look up to Becky Hammon. She's a GOAT. She's a legend. And that was an award that I've always wanted, even since it came out. So once I heard my name being called and I was the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year … I felt, essentially, some more weight dropped off my shoulders and I felt seen, in a way. And it was just really, really fun to hear it out loud as something you've always dreamed of having, and when you get it, it's like, ‘Dang, I actually got it.’ So, yeah, I guess that's where all the emotions came from.”
"Awesome. It's great, yeah. I mean, I hope that everybody's watching our game tomorrow night. We're very excited. ... We're happy to be here because we deserve to be here. And we're looking forward to a great game tomorrow night, and glad that it's the first one."
The completed bracket for the 2025 Ivy League women’s basketball tournament, with No. 3 seed Harvard crowned champion.
A line graph showing the weekly NET rankings for the eight Ivy League women's basketball teams throughout the 2024-25 season.
A line graph showing the NET rankings for the eight Ivy League women's basketball teams for each week of the season.
A line graph showing how the NET rankings for all eight Ivy League women's basketball teams have changed from week to week this season.