Rutgers brings a top D to Jadwin

Just four nights after hosting No. 11 UC Berkeley, the women's basketball team welcomes an even higher-ranked opponent to Jadwin Gym. No. 6 Rutgers will make the short trip down Route 1 tonight for a 7 p.m. clash between the Garden State rivals.

Princeton (3-7 overall) will face a plethora of challenges from the Scarlet Knights (7-2), who last season reached the finals in the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers boasts one of the stingiest defenses in the nation, an array of offensive threats and Hall of Fame coach in C. Vivian Stringer to boot.

"Rutgers is a very talented, athletic and versatile team," head coach Courtney Banghart said. "We must make it a game of five on five and not let Rutgers force us into one-on-one play on either end of the floor."

On offense, Rutgers has an imposing inside-outside combination in six-foot, four-inch junior center Kia Vaughn and senior guards Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson. These players create match-up problems for opposing defenses, and Princeton will have to replicate the strong defensive effort it displayed against Berkeley to counter the Scarlet Knights' diverse offensive attack.

"Against California, we were able to execute our defensive game plan, forcing Cal to take outside shots. We sent double-teams from different areas and protected the paint as a team," Banghart said. "We will have to have a similar style against Rutgers, as they have superior size on the inside and a great ability to penetrate into the paint off the dribble."

The Tigers will count on a trio of underclass guards to shut down Rutgers' talented wing-players. Junior Caitlin O'Neill, sophomore Jillian Schurle and freshman Addie Micir will try to keep Ajavon and Carson off-balance by displaying a variety of defensive looks. In the paint, senior forwards Meg Cowher and Ali Prichard will battle with Vaughn. The Princeton duo will try to confuse the Scarlet Knights' center with a bevy of double-teams, forcing Vaughn to pass to the open player.

The Tigers will also have their hands full on offense. Rutgers is known for its tenacious defense, and it generally harasses its opponents with full-court pressure.

"Rutgers is probably the best defensive team in the nation. They take enormous pride in stopping opponents," Banghart said. "I expect a low-scoring affair. We will have to play with great spacing and be fundamentally sound offensively to combat the ball pressure and wing denial of Rutgers."

Breaking the Scarlet Knights' press will require a team effort from Princeton. O'Neill, Schurle and Micir must work together to protect the ball and help spread the floor on offense. If the Tiger guards can keep good spacing, they will open up the post for Cowher, who will have to work hard to create easy shots against Vaughn.

While the game against Rutgers will most likely be Princeton's toughest of the season, the Tigers will enter the game with the same mindset they have displayed since day one.

"We enter every game with a similar mental approach, and that's to play sound offensive with great spacing, and to concentrate on the defensive end," Banghart said.

Strategically, Princeton will try to force the Scarlet Knights to play a brand of basketball with which they are less comfortable. To do that, the Tigers will have to shut down the Rutgers press and play solid half-court offense.

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If Princeton can keep the ball moving, it will avoid one-on-one situations with Rutgers' excellent perimeter defenders. This, in turn, will also create opportunities for Cowher in the post.

Rutgers is coming off a 10-day stretch in which it played three teams ranked in the country's top 15. It's possible that the Scarlet Knights will be worn out after such a grueling schedule, and a fast Princeton start could help spur an upset.

With that said, the Tigers will have to play excellent team basketball for the full 40 minutes to win against the Scarlet Knights. On Saturday, Princeton played a great first half against Berkeley and went into the locker room down 27-22. The Tigers could not handle the Golden Bears' pressure defense in the second half, however, and California won the game, 68-42.

If the Tigers can replicate their first-half effort against Berkeley for an entire game, they could send a message that will be heard well past Piscataway.