Brown's double-double lifts Tigers to victory

Behind 19 points and 11 rebounds from senior center Becky Brown, the women's basketball team held off a persistent attack from visiting Lehigh to secure its first win of the season, 68-57, on Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym.

In addition to turning in her first double-double of the season, Brown's perfect nine-for-nine night from the field moved her into sixth on Princeton's all-time points scoring list.

"My parents told me about it after the game. It's not something I pay attention to at all," Brown said. "I just take each individual game as it comes. That is just a bonus."

Brown wasn't alone in her effort. Many others, particularly senior guard Katy O'Brien and sophomore forward Meghan Cower, stepped up at crucial times to pick up the Tigers (1-1 overall, 0-0 Ivy League).

Princeton managed to never lose its lead, but Lehigh (1-2) kept fighting and took advantage when Princeton "let their guards down," according to head coach Richard Barron.

To start off the game, Princeton came out of the gate strong, hitting its first five shots and taking a 7-4 lead. Coming off of Friday's tough loss to St. Joseph's, the first shots were key for Princeton.

"The fact that we made shots early made a big difference tonight," Barron said. "When Katy O'Brien hit that first three, it was a good sign that our shots were going to fall."

The Tigers kept the three-point spread until missing their first shot, a three-point attempt, five minutes into the first half. Lehigh cut the lead to one after Princeton missed a string of outside shots, but the Tigers quickly came back and went on a run piecing together strong defense and offensive rebounds to go up 17-10.

The Mountain Hawks fought to cut the lead to three on consecutive Princeton turnovers on passes into the paint, but the Tigers rallied back.

First, Cowher hit shots off the dribble and then connected on well-executed plays with Brown. Next, O'Brien, who finished with 16 points on the night, sparked the Tigers all-around, offensively hitting three straight shots, including two threes, and playing tight defense and getting defensive rebounds.

The Tigers took a 39-24 lead into halftime, but after hitting the first basket out of the half and stretching their lead to 17, they went flat.

"You could see it on their faces. They started to celebrate because they knew this would be a good win," Barron said.

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"A few individual mistakes by everyone added up," said Brown, explaining the lull in the second half. "It wasn't that we were comfortable, but we have to not play not to lose but play to win."

The Mountain Hawks managed to pull within four points, but then the Tigers suddenly flipped a switch back on. In a sequence of clutch plays, including a fast break conversion off of a steal followed by a three-pointer by junior forward Casey Lockwood, the Tigers built their lead back to seven points.

The Tigers gained momentum as Lockwood fed Brown around the defense, who finished with her left hand and drew the foul. Then Brown held her ground under the basket to draw an offensive foul by Lehigh. O'Brien also added to the mix, hitting clutch free-throws when she went to the line in a one-and-one situation and then drilling a three with a defender in her face.

Princeton didn't let Lehigh back into the game again and finished strong, ending up 11 points ahead to clinch its first victory of the season.