Princeton rides momentum to win over Rider

On Tuesday night, the women’s basketball team played at Rider and came away with a 75-62 victory, its second-straight win, bringing its record to 2-1 overall.

The team played well in its season-opener against Rutgers but couldn’t fill the offensive hole left by last year’s seniors, especially Niveen Rasheed ‘13, and the Tigers dropped the game 79-65. However, they continued to hone their offense and improve their defense and defeated Marist by a large margin of 81-59, and they demonstrated that Princeton was taking advantage of its depth — five players scored 10 or more points in that game.

Princeton’s fast-paced offense once again overwhelmed its opponent on Tuesday. Princeton jumped out to an early lead when sophomore guard Michelle Miller hit a three-pointer just 11 seconds into the game. Miller, who scored 11 points against Marist, sunk nine points against Rider. The Tigers never lost the lead, scoring 47 points in the first half while holding Rider to just 32.

Although Princeton’s offense scored fewer points in the second half, its defense stopped Rider from catching up. The closest Rider came to taking the lead was three minutes into the second half. The Broncs opened play with a scoring flurry, bringing the game within six points at 41-47, but never really threatened the Tigers after that. Princeton’s lead fluctuated between 15 and nine, and the team was never in any imminent trouble.

Junior guard Blake Dietrick, who led the team with a career-high 20 points in the game against Rutgers and scored 10 against Marist, again led Princeton in scoring with 15 points. Senior forward Kristen Helmstetter, who led Princeton in points in the game against Marist with 18, had a double-double against the Broncs with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Dietrick added eight rebounds and sophomore guard/forward Annie Tarakchian recorded 11. Sophomore forward Taylor Williams was the only other player to score more than 10 points, as she added 12.

Princeton seems to have shaken off its season-opening loss, as its offense has dominated the last two games, and the defense also looks to be gradually improving. After Rutgers scored almost 80 points, Marist and Rider have combined to average just 60. It is just the beginning of the season, but it seems that Princeton is starting to adjust to holes left by last year’s graduating seniors and the new faces that will fill them.

Princeton’s next game is on Saturday against Georgetown on the road.