Women's basketball loses twice to tough ACC competition

Call them outclassed.

It's not disparaging in any way; it's simply the term in racing for a horse that takes his shot against a bigger and stronger class of horses and meets with a predictable defeat. There's no shame in the loss, and an owner often wants his horse to race above class to help it gain valuable experience.

This is exactly what happened to the women's basketball team this past weekend, and the team should take heart: sometimes being outclassed is a good thing.

The Tigers (1-3 overall) traveled to the heart of Atlantic Coast Conference country this past weekend and dropped a pair of games to clearly superior teams, falling 76-43 at Wake Forest on Friday and 60-50 at Georgia Tech on Sunday in a game that was closer than the score indicates.

Against Wake Forest (3-0), the Tigers could not take advantage of a 16-point, six-rebound effort from sophomore forward Katy Digovich. Princeton was doomed by its 25 turnovers and lost the battle on the boards, 35-33.

The Tigers found themselves behind early, as the Demon Deacons jumped out to a 32-point lead in the first half. Wake shot 64 percent (16-25) for the half and went into the break with a comfortable 49-20 lead.

Despite keeping the game closer, the Tigers shot just 28.6 percent (10-35) from the field in the second half and never threatened the Demon Deacons' lead.

In addition to Digovich, the team got another strong performance from freshman forward Meagan Cowher. Cowher was second on the team with nine points and posted five rebounds.

The Tigers could not stop Wake guard Cotelia Bond-Young who scorched Princeton with a game-high 23 points and was five-of-seven from beyond the arc. Wake also received a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double from forward Erin Ferrell. On Sunday in Atlanta, the Tigers kept the Yellow Jackets (3-0) on their heels for a good portion of the game. The Tigers led, 27-23, at the half and led in the second half by as many as five points. The team could not hold its lead in the final 10 minutes, however, and allowed Tech to pull away.

Digovich again paced the Tigers for scoring with a team-high 13 points. She did so, however, on just four of 13 from the floor, including only three of 10 from behind the arc.

As a team, Princeton didn't shoot all that badly but was obliterated on the boards. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Tigers, 52-26, and had more offensive rebounds than the Tigers had on defense. These second-chance opportunities gave Georgia Tech the win despite its 31 percent shooting (18-58) from the field.

Princeton also allowed Tech to get to the free-throw line 31 times, compared to just 10 times for the Tigers.

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The Yellow Jackets got strong performances off the bench from sophomore guard Stephanie Higgs, who scored a game-high 16 points, and sophomore Kentrina Wilson, who added 13. Junior center Kasha Terry added 14 points and nine rebounds.

While it might be hard for the Tigers to swallow the two tough losses they absorbed over the weekend, there were some positive signs which emerged, particularly from the Georgia Tech game. The Tigers committed only 11 turnovers in the game against the Yellow Jackets and held with an impressive ACC power well into the final ten minutes of the game. This may not give the team the same comfort as a win would, but as they prepare to face opponents from weaker conferences over the next couple of weeks, the Tigers could find that the experience they gained in racing out of class may have given them a push in the right direction.