Women's basketball set to start season at Lehigh

The women's basketball team does not want to repeat its past.

With a new coach and a crowd of fresh faces, Princeton has already taken steps to break away from the look that has plagued its disappointing recent history.

Tonight, the Tigers attempt to take their first step in the right direction and break out of the mold that Princeton teams of the past have set.

For the third straight year, the Tigers will be taking on Lehigh in their season opener.

This year, Princeton hopes to come away with a win and erase the memories of their past two disappointing openers tonight in Bethlehem, Pa.

"We're not looking for revenge," senior point guard and captain Jessica Munson said. "Everything about our team is so new that we're just looking to get started on the right foot."

Both teams have a fresh look to them. Lehigh was also badly hurt by graduation. Princeton is returning only three upperclassmen, while Lehigh brings back five.

Princeton will have a tough road to travel if it wants to break from the past by defeating the Mountain Hawks (0-1), however.

Looming in the Tigers' way is Lehigh forward Anne Tierney. At six feet, she poses a problem for the smaller Princeton team.

Tierney's size is not her only weapon. She was last year's Patriot League Rookie of the Year, leading the league in both scoring and rebounding.

In the Mountain Hawks' two exhibition games and their season-opener, Tierney has picked up where she left off last year, recording double-doubles in all three games.

"Tierney is a dominant player and we need to shut her down," Tiger head coach Kevin Morris said.

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One of the Tigers' weaknesses is their size. While Princeton's possible starting lineup includes only one player above 5-11, Lehigh boasts several possible starters over six feet.

"They've always been dominant inside," junior forward and captain Lauren Rigney said. "We plan to control them inside and force people to shoot who don't usually score."

Though it is early in both teams' seasons, they do have one common opponent.

Lehigh and Princeton both played Asker, Norway in exhibition games. The Mountain Hawks defeated the visiting Norwegians by 17 points, while the Tigers only prevailed by one.

In that exhibition game, the Tigers were up by 14 but were pressured into making turnovers and soon lost their commanding lead.

However, they were able to come back to win in the final minute.

Princeton also hopes to draw on experience from last year's battle with Lehigh.

That game is one the Tigers would like to forget. Princeton led for much of the game, at one point by 11 points.

The lead was not large enough, however, as the Mountain Hawks dominated on the boards, grabbing 23 offensive rebounds to Princeton's five.

In the second half, the Tigers committed a number of turnovers and fouls, and Lehigh came up with every loose ball.

After the disastrous final minutes, Princeton started out the season with a losing record, falling 76-67.

Princeton will not be the only team motivated by its past performance, however.

Lehigh is coming off an ugly season opener against Temple, in which it was troubled by turnovers and weak rebounding, losing 89-55.

The Tigers will look to pressure the Mountain Hawks, much as the Owls did last Friday.

Princeton is planning to focus on all aspects of its defensive game to limit Lehigh's scoring opportunities.

"I feel confident," Morris said. "I think we have a good game plan."

There have been low expectations for this much-depleted Princeton team, and few expect the Tigers to break their losing streak against Lehigh tonight. But the Tigers have other ideas.

"We might surprise some people, but we certainly won't surprise ourselves," Morris said. "We expect to win."