Frosh Berry scores 30 in barn burner

With the women's basketball team down by six in the dying seconds of the first game of Thanksgiving break, senior guard Katy O'Brien hit a three-pointer, which was quickly followed by a pair of free throws by freshman point guard Jessica Berry. And just like that, with five seconds to go, the Tigers pulled to within one point of host St. Mary's College after having trailed nearly the entire game.

A Princeton win on Friday was not to be, however. In the following seconds, the Gaels (2-2 overall) promptly capitalized on a Tiger foul to score two from the line. St. Mary's then stole the ball on the next play to close out the game, 75-70, in Princeton's first contest of the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic in California. The loss was the Tigers' second of the season, but they rebounded to win a close 91-87 game against Central Florida (1-3) the next night.

Princeton (2-2) opened its game against the Gaels with an early lead, going up by five with 17 minutes, 40 seconds left in the first before St. Mary's struck back, hitting three three-pointers in a row to take a lead it would not concede. The Gaels kept Princeton at bay for the rest of the half, going into the break up by five points.

When St. Mary's looked sluggish to start the second half, freshman point guard Jessica Berry quickly added to her 10 first-half points. She opened the scoring on a pair of jumpers, reducing St. Mary's lead to just one. But the Gaels regained momentum, shooting 50 percent to increase their lead to a game-high 11 points with 8:49 left.

The Tigers were able to whittle that lead down to four with 2:20 remaining in the game. Exactly two minutes and two free throws later, however, St. Mary's was back up by six when Princeton went for its desperate and ultimately unsuccessful run against the Gaels, who went on to win the holiday tournament.

Though Princeton outrebounded St. Mary's, 44-33, and outshot its opponents from the field, 45.8 percent to 44.6 percent, the Gaels were able to eke out a single-digit lead throughout most of the game. That advantage was due mostly to their ability to force turnovers and their 70.8 percent conversion at the charity stripe.

The loss to the Gaels also came in spite of a late Princeton rally and a tournament-high 30-point showing by Berry, which included three from the three-point range and seven off the line. That feat made Berry the first Tiger to score 30 or more points in a game since senior center Becky Brown in 2003. Berry's efforts earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.

Joining Berry in double-digit scoring were Brown and sophomore forward Meagan Cowher, who also captured 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the year.

Tigers win barn burner

The roles were reversed during Saturday evening's consolation game, as the Tigers held out for a 91-87 win against Central Florida. The game marked the highest-scoring game for Princeton since the team's 97-point showing against Centenary in 2002.

Though they trailed for most of the game, the Golden Knights rallied late in the second half, going on a 13-5 run to reduce their deficit from 12 points to just four with slightly less than one minute to go. The Tigers responded with a pair of free throws by O'Brien, but an ensuing Central Florida layup saw the Golden Knights pull to within two points with 18 seconds left on the clock.

Princeton, however, was not about to concede two close games in a row, and when Central Florida missed a three-point opportunity to tie the game, junior forward Casey Lockwood hit a free throw to seal the win.

The tight finish belied the Tigers' dominant performance — they led the entire game, except for a brief span during the first half. Princeton led by 11 going into halftime and by as much as 19 points during the second half.

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Though the Golden Knights outshot the Tigers from the field, 61.8 percent to 48.2 percent, Princeton's advantage came off rebounds, where the Tigers outperformed Central Florida 39-26, and free throws, where Princeton made 33 of 44 to the Golden Knights' nine of 17.

Cowher led the Tigers in scoring with 25 points, three shy of her personal record, followed by Lockwood with 17. Berry added 11 points.

The Tigers will play at Monmouth on Thursday before returning to Jadwin Gym against Colgate on Saturday.