The women's basketball team's mighty efforts were rarely successful against its non-conference opponents. But Saturday Princeton roared into its league opener, sending a message that the other Ivies would do well to take the team seriously.
Led by a career-high 22 points from freshman guard Addie Micir, Princeton (4-13 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) stamped out Penn (3-12, 0-1) 69-57, much to the delight of the substantial crowd at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers snapped their seven-game losing streak with a long-awaited victory, but, more importantly, the win restored Princeton's confidence in its progress since November.
"It was a big rivalry, our first Ivy game, and we needed a big win," Micir said. "We ran the ball, played great team defense and ended up getting the 'W.' "
Though she visited Penn last year as a potential recruit, it was clear from the tipoff that there was no love lost between Micir and the Quakers. She netted the Tigers' first six points from behind the arc, helping Princeton establish a 10-4 lead within three minutes, 53 seconds. Penn was not ready to call it a night, however, and Maggie Burgess' layup at 11:57 put the Quakers back on top, 13-12.
Senior forward and captain Meagan Cowher responded quickly, sinking her first jumper of the game less than 30 seconds later. The competition remained fierce, though, and the lead changed another two times as halftime drew near. Finally, Princeton broke away with a 7-0 run the last 3:17 of the half, setting the score at 30-23 before the buzzer.
Penn took the floor aggressively in the second half, and the Quakers' Kelly Scott's foul shots narrowed the Tigers' lead to five within 2:03.
Scott, the Quakers' top scorer, finished the game with 15 points.
The Tigers, however, matched Penn's offensive effort with an equally aggressive defensive one. Seconds after Scott's free throws, junior forward Whitney Downs stripped the ball from her in Penn's backcourt. Downs scored 10 points and led Princeton with five steals.
During the same play, Scott fouled Downs, inadvertently checking her into another Quaker. The referees called a technical foul on Penn's coach for protesting the call, and Micir made both of the resulting penalty free throws. Micir shot with perfect accuracy from behind the foul line throughout the game, sinking all seven of her attempts.
The Tigers' set offense was noticeably more fluid, marked by constant movement and passing amid the Quakers' man-to-man coverage.
When a layup by Cowher skirted off the rim at 17:30, senior forward Ali Prichard grabbed the rebound in mid-jump and fired the ball back to Micir on the outside. Micir looped the ball around to junior guard Jessica Berry, who netted the shot for three points.
Berry, at point guard, scored 12 points Saturday, her strongest showing since her recent return from studying abroad at Oxford.
The Tigers' trademark transition offense took a heavy toll on Penn in the second half. Downs scored on a fast-break at 16:25 after Micir fed her a defensive rebound, and Cowher also made several layups. Held to only five points before halftime, Cowher scored 13 in the second half to become a more potent threat in the post.
That, combined with Princeton's 53 percent accuracy from behind the arc, enabled the Tigers to open a 21-point lead on Penn with 14:09 to play. The Quakers fought back, but after nine minutes, the Tigers remained ahead by 20 points.
Spurred on by 85 percent free-throw accuracy, the Quakers whittled down Princeton's lead in the final five minutes, but it was not enough. Downs held onto the ball as the clock ran down, and the Tigers claimed victory, 69-57.
Princeton will travel to Hanover, N.H., after final exams to play Dartmouth on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. Against her alma mater, head coach Courtney Banghart will expect great things from Princeton's standout performers but knows her team's "selfless" players value teamwork above all else. On Saturday, no one was a better example than Micir.
"This was a team win," Micir said. "We had big team stops and big team scores. I just do the little things."
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