Tigers going for New Jersey state sweep

After taking advantage of a rare opportunity to play at home and ending a three-game losing streak last Wednesday, the women's basketball team is heading back on the road. Princeton (3-5 overall) will face Rutgers (2-3) in Piscataway, N.J. tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

The Tigers have had bad luck on the road so far, losing four of five on the road this season. The Scarlet Knights are 0-1 at home after dropping their home opener against Duke last Monday for the first time since the 1996-7 season.

"Rutgers has some great athletes," head coach Richard Barron said. "But they are without their star player from last year, Cappie Pondexter. They have not quite found their on-court chemistry, but their individual pieces are still very, very good. They are playing some freshmen who are still learning the college game, and that was exposed by some of the elite teams in the country—Duke and Georgia."

Last year when Princeton faced Rutgers, Pondexter scored a game-high 25 points, with most of her baskets coming in the second half to secure the Scarlet Knights' win. She has since moved on to the WNBA. The Tigers, however, have also lost two players who played key roles in last year's game against Rutgers. Former guard Katy O'Brien '06 and center Becky Brown '06 had 14 points each in that game. Brown also collected 13 rebounds for a double-double. Junior forward Meagan Cowher had 13 points and seven rebounds in that game.

"[Rutgers is] a bit hot and cold right now," Barron said. "Unfortunately for us, they are coming off of a big loss in their home opener versus Duke, and I am quite certain that they will see our game as a statement game. They will press us full-court the entire time unless we score consistently against it."

The Scarlet Knights' full-court press was effective against the Orange and Black in last years' game.

"We played Rutgers very close last year and it was a one-possession game in the final minute," Barron said.

Rutgers put on the pressure in the second half, forcing turnovers and missed shots. Rutgers shot much more accurately than the Tigers, making 45.7 percent of their shots to Princeton's 34.5 percent. Turnovers haunt the Tigers this season as well, with the team totaling 18 turnovers in Wednesday's game to NJIT's 14.

The Scarlet Knights' guard Matee Avajon played her first game of the season after a leg injury that kept her out for the past seven months. She led the team against Duke with 14 points in her 23 minutes of play. She also had three blocks and made two of four three-pointers. The Tigers will also have to look out for center Kia Vaughn, who grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds against the Blue Devils. With the game against Duke, Vaughn extended her streak of consecutive games with double-digit rebounds to five. Rutgers freshman Epiphany Prince has a similar streak of five consecutive games with double-digit points after putting up 11 points against Duke.

"They have a very strong inside presence in Vaughn, which will make rebounding an essential part of our being competitive in the game," Barron said. "Our expectations are that we play hard and continue to improve. We always want to be proud of our effort after every game and believe that it is important to believe that we gave our best."

Princeton will be coming off a strong win against NJIT last Wednesday. The Tigers hit 11 three-pointers, the most since their December 1, 2004 game against Wagner. Junior forward Meagan Cowher had her third double-double of the season, putting up 16 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Jessica Berry scored 14 points, including four of five three-pointers. The Tigers now have a chance to prove they can be effective on the road and get even for last years' loss.