The women's basketball team has had one enemy this season even more haunting than Ivy League-champion Harvard — turnovers.
The squad's persistent foe reared its head again during the Tigers' most recent road trip, as Princeton (12-15 overall, 6-7 Ivy League) lost the turnover battle against both Brown (5-22, 3-10) and Yale (12-16, 5-9), splitting the weekend and slipping to fifth place in the Ivy League standings.
The Tigers triumphed over Brown in Providence, R.I., Friday, but the team's 19 turnovers made the game closer than Princeton would have liked. When the teams played in Jadwin earlier this season, the Tigers cruised to a 69-51 victory. This time, the Bears played Princeton tight, to the tune of a 55-49 final score.
The next day in New Haven, Conn., the Tigers weren't so lucky in attempting to overcome their own sloppy play. In its last road game of the season, Princeton let its Ivy record slip under the .500 mark, falling 64-49 in a game the Bulldogs controlled almost from start to finish.
The lone bright spot for the Tigers Saturday was a historic individual achievement for junior forward Meagan Cowher. After leading Princeton with 23 points against Brown Friday, Cowher came into the Yale game with 470 points on the year, just 10 points short of the single-season scoring record set by Sandi Bittler '90 in the 1989 season. With 12 points against the Bulldogs, Cowher passed Bittler and solidified her place in the record books.
The weekend's performance also put Cowher's career scoring total at 1,125 points, 11th on Princeton's all-time scoring list.
In their Friday win over Brown, the Tigers tallied 19 turnovers to the Bears' 16, but they overcame the weakness by out-shooting the Bears, 46.3 percent to 37.3 percent.
While Princeton dominated the last meeting with the Bears, holding the lead from start to finish, the Bears held a lead late in this game. With just five minutes, 48 seconds left in the second half, the Tigers trailed 46-42. Brown went cold over the next five minutes, however, and Cowher scored eight unanswered points to give Princeton the lead for good.
"After losing a close game to Brown on their home floor last year, Friday's win was very satisfying," sophomore guard Jessica Berry said. "We were able to convert at the free throw line late in the game and battle back from behind to get the win."
Senior forward Casey Lockwood contributed 10 points against the Bears, while freshman forward Elizabeth Pietrzak led the Tigers with 11 rebounds.
With the victory, head coach Richard Barron gained sole possession of second place on Princeton's all-time list with 73 career wins. Joan Kowalik, who coached the Tigers from 1984-95, tops that list with 163 wins.
Barron would not move any closer to the top Saturday, as Princeton once again coughed up the ball 19 times and were down 11 points by halftime. Cowher scored Princeton's first eight points to tie the game at 8-8 with 15:47 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs broke the tie with a 13-2 run and never relinquished control of the game.
Yale scored 19 points off Princeton turnovers in the first half alone and 27 for the game.
Sophomore forward Whitney Downs led all scorers and tied her career high with 17 points, but the Tigers could not close the lead to fewer than 10 points in the second half.
Princeton has a chance to break even in league games with its season finale against rival Penn Tuesday night at Jadwin Gym.
If the Tigers wish to turn over a new leaf heading into next season, they will have to leave behind the turnovers.
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