Since last year, when Army destroyed the women's basketball team, 64-46, in Jadwin Gym, the Black Knights lost most of their offensive threats, while the Tigers have found weapons they never expected to have.
Yet Saturday afternoon in West Point, N.Y., Army (2-6) still had enough firepower to knock off Princeton (4-3), 69-65. The Black Knights were led by guard Christine Gassman, who piled up 20 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting, and forward Katie McFarlane, who had 18 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. McFarlane's double-double was her sixth in Army's eight games, and she also led the Black Knights with six assists.
Even sophomore guard Kelly Schaeffer's career-high 25 points were not enough to push Princeton past the lowly Black Knights, as the Tigers played below the level they have grown accustomed to this season. Princeton shot 36.5 percent from the field and was just 7-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Army jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but the Black Knights could not maintain their edge, falling back to a tie at 33 with three minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the first half. From there they went on an 8-2 run before halftime to establish a lead that would stand the remainder of the game.
The Army lead slowly swelled to 10 with five minutes to play in the second half, when the Tigers finally seemed to wake from their slumber. After Schaeffer scored seven points and junior guard Allison Cahill knocked down a three-pointer, the Tigers trailed by only three at 68-65 with a minute to play.
But Princeton would not score again before time expired, giving Army a hard-fought win.
"We made a run to get ourselves back in the game and I was pleased with the fight we had in the last two minutes," head coach Richard Barron said. "But I was disappointed that we did not play with that same sense of urgency the first 38 minutes of the game."
Cahill was second among the Tigers with 14 points, and freshman Karen Bolster added 11. Senior forward Lauren Rigney, whose consistent scoring and rebounding has been crucial to Princeton's early-season success, missed most of the game with back problems. Rigney failed to score, and had just one rebound in seven minutes of play.
Rigney will have plenty of time to recover before the Tigers' next game, which is Monday, Dec. 17, in Thibodaux, La., against Nicholls State.
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