Madison St. Rose wants Ashley Chea to just be the best version of herself. If the Princeton women’s basketball team is going to continue its dominance over the Ivy League, it needs Chea to step into the role of starting point guard that was held down by her friend and mentor Kaitlin Chen. “I’m seeing it in practice where her confidence level has grown drastically,” said St. Rose, the team’s junior star. “Her and Kaitlin are two different players, but I see that confidence in Ashley that Kaitlin has. For Ashley to be the leading point guard now that’s a lot of big confidence that she needs because she’s going to be leading the team and running our sets.” The comparisons between Chea and Chen, the former Ivy Player of the Year who is playing her graduate season for Geno Auriemma at UConn, are invariably going to happen. Both are from Southern California, both attended Flintridge Prep in suburban Los Angeles where they overlapped for a year, and then both followed the same path to Old Nassau where they again played together for a season. “Having her just to look up to was, for sure, the best thing I could have asked for,” Chea said. “She’s a great mentor, she’s like an older sister to me and she’s an amazing basketball player.” Chen’s departure — she’s in the last class of Covid seniors who had to use that extra season of eligibility outside the Ivy League — has left a void at point guard that Chea is expected to fill. Despite their near-identical path’s to Princeton, they aren’t the same player. Chen is an attacker who wants to get downhill and into the paint where she thrives with a package of layups and mid-range jumpers. Chea is a bigger threat from beyond the arc. She has a smooth release and shot 37.9% on 3-pointers as a freshman. What they do have in common is what makes them winners. “They are different, but similar in how hard they work, how much they care, how passionate they are about this game and their teammates,” coach Carla Berube said. The next part is nailing down the consistency. “She’s certainly going to be playing a lot more minutes for us,” Berube said. “She had a great model for last year and certainly her time in high school, too. She’s ready. She just has to be more consistent with her play and taking care of the ball and running what we need to, reading the defense, reading what’s on the floor and who needs to get the ball.” But the most important part of being the point guard? She’s got that down. “I look for my teammates first, and for me seeing my teammates succeed makes me feel like the team is headed in the right direction,” Chea said. “Last year, I just tried to look up to the people who were in front of me, but now I think I have to take on the role of people have to be led by me in some ways. If I’m the point guard, I have to learn what my teammates would want to hear from me and vice versa.” The Tigers are going to be challenged early in the season. Including Monday’s season opener at Duquesne, seven of the first eight games are away from Jadwin Gymansium. Chea feels well equipped to handle the road ahead in her sophomore season. “I learned the intensity that comes with being a college player,” said Chea, who averaged six points and played 15.6 minutes while appearing in all 30 games. “Everyone is stronger, everyone is tougher, everyone is quicker. (Then) team-wise just having everybody be so positive and exert such great energy I think pushing yourself and having the good support system around you.”