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Princeton has been quietly taking care of business and climbing up the rankings, so it's about time to ask how far this team can really go. The Tigers are currently riding a 15-game winning streak, which is the third-longest active streak in women's basketball. This has helped Princeton move up to No. 19 in the AP Top 25, the Tigers' best ranking since being No. 13 in 2015.

"Our goals have remained our goals," coach Carla Berube told CBS Sports. "And that's to be Ivy League champs, regular season and to be in the NCAA tournament and get some great games, hopefully. We've been successful in the past. The last couple of years we've lost in the first round and we are looking forward to more."

It's still only January, but this week CBS Sports bracketologist Connor Groel has Princeton as a No. 6 seed, and the team was projected to be a No. 5 seed just last week. No Ivy League team has ever made it past the second round of the women's tournament, but could this be the year? Let's take a closer look at why Princeton has been gaining recognition.

Background

Princeton has reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament three times: 2015, 2022 and 2023. In 2015, the Tigers entered the Big Dance with a perfect 31-0 record but ultimately fell 85-70 to Maryland.

Last year, three Ivy League teams made it into the NCAA tournament for the first time in league history, but only Columbia managed to win a game, a 63-60 victory over Washington in the First Four. None of the teams made it past the first round. The Tigers suffered a 68-65 loss to Iowa State in the First Four, but that close loss showed the potential of this program.

This season tipped off with a win against Georgia Tech, a team that managed to upset Notre Dame in early January. Princeton's schedule hasn't had too many ranked teams, but the Tigers' only loss so far came at the hands of then-No. 9 Maryland on Nov. 16. The final score was 84-68, but the Tigers had a particularly impressive showing in the second quarter when they outscored the Terrapins 20-8, forced eight turnovers and made Maryland pay in transition. It was still a loss, but it was early in the season and that kind of experience could help the team later on.

Madison St. Rose's comeback

The current roster has all five starters averaging double figures, which instantly makes it harder for opponents to know who the defense needs to focus on. The team is led by senior Madison St. Rose's 16.5 points per game. The 2023 Ivy League Rookie of the Year only played four games last season before tearing her ACL, but her return gives the team some invaluable leadership on the court and also in the locker room with her work ethic.

The Ivy League doesn't have official summer workouts, but St. Rose worked hard to make a comeback and spent every day of the offseason with the team trainer and conditioning coach. 

"It just goes to show what kind of drive and work ethic she has," Berube said. "And also just passion. She loves this game so much. It was really hard for her to just sit and watch last year. There was nothing more she wanted to do than get out there and play with her best friends."

Princeton has multiple options

The other four starters are juniors Fadima Tall, Skye Belker, Ashley Chea and Olivia Hutcherson. Berube describes St. Rose as a true three-level scorer, but also added that everyone brings different skills that are key for the team's success.

"I think what is good is that they compliment each other well," she said. "They are not the same kind of players at all. The way Olivia Hutcherson scores is a very different way than Fadima Tall scores. Olivia gets a lot of offensive rebounds, putbacks or scores in transition really well. Whereas Fadima, she can shoot 3s but also can score on the block. Ashley Chea is scoring at the rim or 3s. Skye Belker is pull-up jumpers and midrange. She can also shoot the 3 well too."

Hutcherson has probably made the biggest jump from her sophomore season as she went from scoring 4.2 points per game to 11.4 points per contest. She can also brag about winning the team's recent "dip off" at Burebe's house with an Artichoke dip she and Sarah Lessig made from scratch.

Meanwhile, Chea is the kind of player who likes to have the ball in her hands when the team is under pressure. In the 82-79 overtime win against Harvard earlier this month, she hit the game-tying three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

"Ashley Chea, she's made for those moments," Berube said. "She's done it several times for us. She just has ice in her veins and loves those moments."

Don't sleep on Toby Nweke

The starters have been solid, but Berube said her bench is also impactful. She highlighted Toby Nweke as one of the most underrated players on her team.

The 5-foot-8 sophomore guard is averaging 6.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. These stats don't exactly stand out on the stat sheet, but the coach talked about the impact she makes when she checks in.

"I think she just makes a great impact every time she steps on the floor," Berube said. "She is a great defender. She is long, she is quick, but she also can knock down the 3. She is like our best corner 3-point shooter. I just think she makes a great impact. Not a lot is talked about her, but I think she makes us better every single day."

The outlook for March

So, what does this all mean for the Tigers' postseason hopes? The No. 8 seed that Princeton earned in the 2015 NCAA Tournament is still the highest seed in Ivy history, so even the current projected No. 6 seed would be a significant achievement. As Groel pointed out in his Jan. 20 bracketology, Princeton could lose a game or two down the stretch and still end up with a single-digit seed.

But in women's hoops, the top four seeds in each bracket get to host first-round games, meaning if Princeton wants to be the first Ivy in the Sweet 16, a No. 4 seed would certainly help the Tigers, currently 40 in the NET rankings, have an easier path. However, this would be a very difficult feat to achieve.

Remaining undefeated in conference play would be a must, and the team likely also needs to win the Ivy League tournament. The game against Columbia on Friday is a particularly important one because the Lions are the second highest Ivy League team in the NET rankings at 59, as is the rematch on the road against Columbia on Feb. 13. Even all of that might not be enough because the Tigers are done with non-conference games, so it will be hard for them to get a win big enough to really boost their resume. For them to continue moving up the rankings, they might need teams ranked higher than them not only to tumble, but to fail to rack up more Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins, something those teams will have more opportunities to notch given they play in tougher conferences.

Of course, a top-four seed is not a requirement to make it to the Sweet 16 -- March is famous for its upsets, and Princeton has the type of veteran team that has been known to cause some madness.

Regardless, Princeton has already established itself as one of the top mid-major programs in the country and it will be fun to see what else the Tigers can achieve this season.