Women's basketball ends lackluster season with home win

Women's basketball has taken several hits as of late. Sitting last in the league with a string of defeats following the loss of their second-highest scorer, freshman Casey Lockwood, there seemed to be little joy to be had from their season. But even without an NCAA berth, there is still something to be said when a team plays with full intensity knowing it has nothing to gain as opposed to a team that has nothing to lose and barely scrapes by.

Women's basketball ended their season on a high note this weekend, breaking a seven-game losing streak by defeating Dartmouth, 66-58, at Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday.

"Before the game, we decided we weren't going to focus on anything else but this game," sophomore post Becky Brown said. "[And] it felt more like a game atmosphere."

Princeton (7-20 overall, 4-10 Ivy League) played Harvard on Friday to start out the weekend, losing 68-53 despite some strong play by the Tigers.

In the Dartmouth game, the Big Green (15-11, 8-5) picked up a quick 12-7 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the first. But, behind Brown, Princeton rallied for an 11-4 run to tie the game at 16 in the next three minutes. Brown scored all 11 points in those three minutes, leading both teams in scoring at the half.

"We definitely started working as a team," Brown said. "We had the motivation. We all knew we could do better. We started hitting, and the game kind of flew from there."

Despite being down most of the first half, the Tigers managed to rally to a 36-29 lead at the break. Four Tigers – sophomore guard Ali Smith and freshmen guards Katy Digovich, Lillie Romeiser and Elyse Umeda – shot four of six from behind the arc to help lift Princeton to its lead. Dartmouth managed to connect on only two of 12 from three-point range in the first half.

In the second half, Princeton never let go of the lead. Smith and sophomore guards Lauren Nestor and Katy O'Brien each hit a three in the second half giving the Tigers the outside edge again.

Princeton finished the game shooting 38.9 percent from behind the arc and held the Big Green to just 19 percent. The Tigers shot 41.8 percent from the field while Dartmouth managed a meager 36.2 percent.

Princeton had nine players play at least 10 minutes, eight of which scored more than two points. Dartmouth's Jeannie Cullen, Angie Soriaga and Elise Morrison accounted for 42 of the Big Green's 58 points.

Brown led the team in scoring and rebounding with 24 points and nine boards. Digovich was second in scoring and rebounding with 12 points and seven boards. Princeton out-rebounded Dartmouth 43-33.

Against Harvard the previous night, Brown led Princeton in scoring with 18 points and also contributed seven rebounds. Brown has led the Tigers in scoring in eight of the past nine games. Senior guard Maureen McCracken had a career high 13 points and was the Tigers' second leading scorer. She has averaged 11 points per game in the past three games.

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McCracken and Nestor tied as Princeton's leading rebounder, each recording eight boards.

The Crimson's Reka Cserny is third in the league in scoring, averaging 18 points per game. Cserny finished with 17 points and eight rebounds against Princeton. Harvard has now defeated the Tigers the last five times the teams have played.

But with the win over Dartmouth, Princeton has absolved any regret that might have lingered from their past defeats. They join only three other teams in the league that can enter the next season following a win.