Pretty in pink and pumped for Crimson, Green

Princeton (5-18 overall, 2-5 Ivy League) takes on archrival Harvard (13-9, 6-2) tonight before facing head coach Courtney Banghart’s alma mater Dartmouth (8-14, 5-3) on Saturday night in Jadwin Gym.

Adding to the intrigue, Princeton will be sporting pink uniforms Saturday for “Think Pink” night to raise breast cancer awareness. Most importantly, the weekend home stand features two games against prominent Ivy League opponents whom the Tigers must beat to move up in the conference standings.

Earlier in February, Princeton lost to the Crimson 82-64. In that game, Princeton was within three points midway through the first half before Harvard went on a 19-2 run to put the game out of reach. To reverse the result, the Tigers will have to do a better job of controlling the tempo of the game, something they have been working on over the past month.

“We have worked very hard as of late on changing and controlling our tempo and looking to score in primary break opportunities,” Banghart said. “But if nothing shows, being sure we get high-percentage scoring opportunities.”

Princeton will also need to improve its play on the defensive side of the ball, mixing up formations and putting pressure on the ball handler to prevent the Crimson from getting into a rhythm on offense. The Tiger offense will look to feed the ball inside to senior forward and co-captain Meagan Cowher, now the third-leading scorer in Princeton women’s basketball history, to create openings for the rest of the team.

“We are starting to find our rhythm and understanding how to better balance our transition attack and our half-court offense,” junior forward Whitney Downs said. “This, in turn, is enabling us to get better shots as well as more offensive rebounding opportunities.”

Offensive balance will be pivotal in the Tigers’ Saturday night contest with Dartmouth. In the teams’ first meeting this year, a 68-55 Princeton loss, the Tigers did a good job of weathering Dartmouth’s diverse offensive attack.

Princeton, however, struggled to develop a rhythm on offense, making the win unlikely. To turn the tide on the Big Green, Princeton will need to play solid team basketball on both ends of the floor, forcing Dartmouth’s shooters to take difficult shots while creating easy looks on offense.

Adding to the excitement Saturday, the matchup against Dartmouth will be the first time Banghart has faced her alma mater at Jadwin Gym.

“The Dartmouth game is a special one, of course,” Banghart said, “[because of] my prior experience in that program and with [Dartmouth assistant coach] Mary Gleason’s experience here at Princeton. Both teams know each other very well. It’s a home Ivy game, a chance for them to play together and play hard. That’s most important.”

While Princeton has continued to showcase its ability to compete with any team in the Ivy League, the Tigers have been plagued by a propensity to give up big runs to their Ivy League opponents. The Tigers showed signs of bucking this trend in their last game, a 70-56 win at Brown.

“In the second half of the season, we need to be able to stop teams from going on large runs,” Downs said. “We have played from behind in most of our games, which has led us to force shots and try to make plays instead of letting the game come to us. Overall, if we can have the toughness to stop the other team’s runs early, we should have more success in the second half of the year.”

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This weekend will be a test of Princeton’s improvement over the first half of the Ivy League season. Having already played every team in the conference once, the Tigers will now get the opportunity to knock off two perennial league-title contenders.

“Winning is something we have to continue to be in a position to do,” Banghart said. “Now, learning to win the close games will come in time. I think we are ready.”

With what are sure to be large crowds in attendance both nights, the Tigers will have the chance to prove their coach right.