Hornets sting Tigers with last second layup

The women's basketball team concluded a winless Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament this weekend with two losses in the consolation round at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. The Tigers fell to Samford on Friday and suffered a loss in overtime to Delaware State on Saturday.

Princeton (0-4 overall) came up just short in overtime against Delaware State (1-2), suffering a 63-62 loss to the Hornets in a game that came down to the buzzer. Junior forward Whitney Downs brought the Tigers' overtime lead to 62-59 with a layup, but Ashlee Burbage of Delaware State whittled the lead to one with a jump shot. The Hornets called a timeout with 18 seconds remaining to construct the winning play, which resulted in Burbage netting another layup with two seconds.

Things looked good for Princeton early on, as a nine-point run sent the team into the locker room with a 10-point lead at halftime, 31-21.

The Hornets recovered quickly after the break, with their field-goal percentage improving to 43.8 percent from just 29 percent in the first half. Meanwhile, Princeton's shooting fell to 42.9 percent in the second half after hitting 56.5 percent in the first.

"We were not able to take care of the little things this weekend," head coach Courtney Banghart said, "like making our free throws and controlling the glass."

After just four minutes of play in the second half, Delaware State had cut the Tigers' lead to two points. The Hornets used a pair of free throws to take a 56-53 lead with just 28 seconds left in the game, but Downs hit a three-pointer to tie the game and send Princeton into overtime for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Senior forward Meagan Cowher led the Tigers with 24 points in the losing effort.

While a three-pointer was enough to send the Tigers to overtime against the Hornets, long-range shots could not overcome Samford, as the Tigers fell 77-68. Princeton hit nine three-pointers on 27 attempts against the Bulldogs, three of which came from freshman guard Shelbie Pool, but could not pull ahead as the Bulldogs responded with nine three-pointers of their own off 23 attempts.

While the teams were evenly matched in long shots, Samford built up a lead on the foul line, hitting 22 of 29 attempts to Princeton's 11 of 18. Princeton only gave up 14 turnovers and out-rebounded Samford, 41-31.

"Samford runs an offensive continuity much like the Princeton men used to run with backdoor cutting and three-point shot attempts," Banghart said. "It is a unique offensive system that has provided them success."

The Bulldogs took the lead with an 8-0 run in the first half and held onto it for the rest of the game. Princeton cut Samford's lead to 52-49 with 9:44 left in the second half, but Samford quickly widened the gap back to eight points. The Tigers pulled within three again with just 55 seconds left, but Samford hit eight-of-eight free throws to secure the victory.

Senior forward Ali Prichard had her first career double-double against Samford, while Cowher led Princeton with 20 points, putting her in ninth place on the all-time career list with 1,186 total points. Cowher jumped up to eighth place on the list with her outing Saturday.

"Cowher was a real bright spot for us this weekend," Banghart said. "We were able to establish an inside presence in both games, which opened up our perimeter play as well."

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Princeton will open its season at home in Jadwin Gym on Tuesday against Lehigh.

"We are continuing to battle and making steps in the right direction," Banghart said. "We have to take care of the little things now, and people have to step up to make plays."