Women's basketball dismantles Lehigh in stunning opener

The women's basketball team headed down a bumpy road last season to a 2-25 dead end. In this year's opener against Lehigh on Friday night, however, they defeated the Mountain Hawks, 76-61, and showed that they've got a whole new ride.

New head coach Richard Barron's run-and-gun offense put the Tigers in high gear, as they accelerated back and forth down the court on one fast break after another.

"Our offensive style this year is much more up-tempo than last year's style. Running more creates more possessions, and therefore more chances to score," sophomore point guard Mary Cate Opila said.

The Tigers sped ahead of the Mountain Hawks early in the game, and by halftime were leading 32-25. They maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half to close out the game.

Freshman guard Karen Bolster took the wheel from the start. In the first half she made no less than five three-pointers, and added two more in the next twenty minutes. She finished the game with a total of 24 points - 21 of which were from beyond the arc.

Bolster's 24-point performance puts her in the Princeton record book for scoring the most points ever by a woman in her first career game. She is second only to Bill Bradley '65 - who scored 27 in 1962 - in Princeton history.

Despite Bolster's incredible individual performance, the key to the Tigers' victory was that, in Opila's words, "We played really well as a team." Overall, Princeton shot 25-for-51 from the field and 10-for-22 from downtown.

"I like threes because they count for more than twos," Barron said.

The pump fake, followed by a couple quick dribbles toward the hoop, was an effective offensive tool against the Mountain Hawks' man-to-man defense. Opila, who had 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, and took one charge, used the pump fake to open up shots from the elbow, and sophomore Kelly Schaeffer employed it to get baseline jumpers.

Down low, senior forward Lauren Rigney's reverse lay-up to the right side in the middle of the first half and junior forward Maureen Lane's reverse to the left with about two minutes to play were twists of elegance rarely seen last season.

Rigney finished with 11 points and six rebounds and took three charges. Lane added 13 to the scoreboard, and her intensity on defense resulted in two steals.

The Tigers, like the Mountain Hawks, ran a tough man-to-man defense, but Princeton's included a trap at the high wing that created multiple steal opportunities.

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Like all first games, Friday's opener also exposed areas of weakness on which the Tigers will focus in upcoming practices.

"Defensively, our rebounding has to improve," Barron said. "Offensively, we have to get some consistent production from our post play. We have some good shooters that will open up the middle but we have to find someone who wants the ball and will score in the low post. If we can have someone step up and learn to do that, it will go a long way towards making us a good team."

In each of Princeton's past three season openers against Lehigh, it has lost by an average of 14.34 points. This year, however, the Tigers were in the driver's seat.

The team has good reason to be excited with its victory. However, as Bolster recognized, "We have a long season ahead of us and many more games to win."