Tigers dominate Penn

For about 33 minutes at The Palestra on Saturday, the women's basketball team struggled to find the impressive form they displayed over winter break. Tied at 47, archrival Penn gave as good as they got, aggressively trading baskets and frustrating the Tigers' efforts at shooting.

And then it was all Princeton. The Quakers (1-10 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) could only watch as the Tigers (10-4, 1-0) went on a 14-1 run, setting up their first victory against Penn in three years, 73-55.

"This is the first time I've won in the Palestra," senior center Becky Brown said. "It feels great."

'Great' would just about describe Brown, as well. The Quaker defense simply couldn't handle her. Brown scored 28 points — 22 in the second half alone — secured nine rebounds and converted six-of-eight free throws. Her dominant showing increased her career point total to 1,377, making Brown the third-highest scorer in Princeton's history.

She was not alone in putting up an impressive performance. Senior guard Katy O'Brien contributed 18 points, while freshman guard Jessica Berry had two sublime assists and scored eight points.

For their part, the Quakers were sloppy on offense, though junior guard Joey Rhoads kept them in the game with 19 points. Once the Tigers found their offensive footing, however, the Penn defense had no answers, especially in the paint. When the ball entered the key, the Quakers seemed unable to prevent layups, especially from the six-foot, three-inch Brown.

Princeton started its 14-1 run off a field goal by junior forward Casey Lockwood and never let its lead drop to less than nine. The Tigers shot 62.5 percent in the second half, and out-rebounded Penn, 21-15.

Still, victory was some time in coming. The first half ended in a 25-25 tie, which Princeton survived primarily thanks to free throws. The Quakers' 15 fouls sent the Tigers to the line 18 times, of which they converted 14. Penn, for its part, had a lower shooting percentage — 27.6 to 35.7 — but the Quakers had more than double Princeton's chances. Where Penn really shone, though, was in shots beyond the arc. From the opening basket — a fall-away floater from well beyond the arc as the shot clock wound down — Penn blunted the Tigers' strong defense by hitting five from beyond the three-point line.

With this loss, the Quakers have now lost 10 games in a row and have the second worst record in the Ivy League as the conference season begins. For the Tigers, this is their best start since 1995 and sends a clear signal to Ivy rivals that Princeton is determined to go for a league pennant.

No. 1 Tennessee dominates

The Tigers opened their winter break campaign on Dec. 20 against the nation's No. 1 team, Tennessee (7-0). The ensuing loss — 107-39 — was the most one-sided contest Princeton has seen since 1979, and is only the second time another team has scored more than 100 points against the Tigers.

Princeton was outplayed in every facet of the game. On offense, the Lady Vols posted a 59.7 field-goal percentage, including 11 three-pointers, to the Tigers' 29.3 percent showing.

Tennessee also benefited from 16 turnovers — double Princeton's eight — and came down with 52 rebounds to 22.

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The Tigers' frustration showed, as they committed 20 fouls, sending Tennessee to the line 24 times. The Lady Vols duly converted on two-thirds of those occasions, while they returned the favor just four times – all in the first half. To compound Princeton's misery, Tennessee managed to steal the ball no less than 12 times — three times more than the Tigers.

Brown was once again Princeton's star showing. The Tennessee native put up 12 points, though that paled in comparison to the Lady Vols' senior guard Shanna Zolman, who, despite being the team's smallest player at 5'10", posted a game-high 23 points.

The lone hiccup

That loss, which was not unexpected, would prove to be the only hiccup over the break. The Tigers won their remaining three games, starting with a 73-56 win over Mt. St. Mary's one week later on Dec. 28.

The Mountaineers were hampered by poor shooting performance, converting just 30.3 percent of their shots from the field to Princeton's 53.7 percent. The Tigers also managed 46 rebounds to 36 and secured 16 turnovers, seven more than their opponents.

The two teams played fairly level at the beginning, with Mt. St. Mary's taking a one-point lead into the locker room. Once back on court, however, Princeton pulled away, shooting 72 percent to 29 percent for the Mountaineers, and leading by as much as 20.

With 26 points, Brown yet again paced the Tigers, and sophomore forward Meagan Cowher added 20 points. Both players posted double-digit rebounds, grabbing 11 and 10, respectively.

Princeton's following matchup, against Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 30, saw four Tigers post double-digit scores, led by Brown and followed by O'Brien, Cowher and forward Casey Lockwood. Their performances contributed to Princeton's 88-51 win over the Knights (3-8) at Jadwin.

The Tigers never gave their opponent a chance — Fairleigh Dickinson got no closer than a 2-2 tie in the opening minute. Princeton outdid the Knights in rebounds, 52 to 28; shooting, 55 percent to 31.8; and free throws, converting 16 of 21 to 7 of 13.

The Tigers followed up with an equally impressive showing against Lafayette (4-9) on Jan. 3 at Jadwin Gym, winning 73-47. This time, Princeton was led in scoring by Cowher's 18 points. Though the Tigers weren't at their most accurate, with just a 49.2 field goal percentage, they made up for it by posting seven three-pointers and forcing 28 turnovers to 13.

Though Princeton started strong, going on a 26-9 run to end the first half up by 17, the Leopards threatened to strike back. Lafayette went on a 9-0 run early in the second half, but the Tigers were able to regain composure and held out for a comfortable win.