Princeton went to New Haven, Conn., on Friday to face a tough Yale (6-15, 4-4) team. After taking the lead in the first half, Yale finished the rout, 78-57. The Bulldogs set a season high with 22 assists and tied their season high in rebounds with 51.
Senior forward and co-captain Meagan Cowher led the Princeton offense with 17 points, and freshman guard Krystal Hill added 12 points for her second double-digit effort in the past three games. Cowher maintained her position as the leading scorer in the Ivy League after this weekend.
Yale had four players score in the double digits, led by Jamie Van Horne with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Bulldog Melissa Colborne, the Ivy League’s second-highest scorer, contributed 18 points.
Early in the game, scoring was extremely scarce as both teams had difficulty making their shots. Yale missed 15 of its first 17 attempts before a three-pointer from Van Horne gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 10-8 with 12 minutes, 19 seconds left in the first half.
Inspired by the advantage, Yale picked up the pace as Princeton struggled to respond. Two more long bombs from Van Horne, along with aggressive play on the inside, allowed Yale to extend its lead to double-digits with 4:51 left in the first half.
The Tigers showed momentary signs of life in the last five minutes, cutting the Bulldogs’ lead down to six on two free throws from freshman Shelbie Pool. Yale recovered, however, and a layup and free throw from forward Melissa Colburne restored the margin to nine before the break.
The Tigers stayed competitive through the second half but could not retake the lead, cutting the lead to five points three different times. A layup from junior guard Jessica Berry cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 40-35 with 15 minutes left to play, but Yale responded with a 23-7 run to take a 63-42 lead and never looked back.
The Tigers pulled to within 15 points before the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run to take a 74-50 lead with 3:14 remaining. The Bulldog victory ended Yale’s three-game losing streak while extending the Tigers’ losing streak to five games. Princeton has lost 12 of its last 13 games.
Yale recovered from its poor shooting in the first half to outshoot the Tigers overall, 41.3 percent to 35.2 percent. The Bulldogs also outrebounded the Tigers 51-33.
The Tigers snapped their losing streak Saturday with a 70-56 win over Brown (2-20, 1-7) in Providence, R.I. Brown remains in eighth place in the league at the end of the first round of conference play.
Princeton jumped to a 6-0 lead at the start of the game and never lost the edge. Cowher hit nine points in the first seven minutes to extend the Tigers’ lead to 24-11, and Princeton led by as many as 18 during the first half. Brown cut the Tigers’ lead to 14 points at the half and got within eight points with a basket from freshman Sadiea Williams with 7:24 left to play. Princeton answered with a 5-0 run and maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
Cowher scored a game-high 24 points, and junior forward Whitney Downs added a career-high 19 points with four three-pointers. Junior guard Caitlin O’Neill joined her teammates in the double-digits with 10 points.
Cowher also led the Tigers in rebounding with nine boards, while O’Neill posted seven rebounds — surprisingly high for a perimeter player.
Brown had two double-digit scorers. Williams, the team’s leading scorer so far this season, had 10 points, and Christina Johnson led the Bear offense with 11.
Overall, Princeton outshot the Bears, 48.1 percent to 44.4 percent, and led 32-30 in rebounds. In the first half, Princeton shot 55.6 percent from the field compared to Brown’s 42.3 percent.
The Tigers can look forward to a four-game homestand to kick off the second round of conference play. They will host Harvard and Dartmouth in Jadwin Gymnasium next weekend, with Brown and Yale to follow.
Both the Crimson and the Big Green had season-high shooting percentages in their wins over Princeton earlier this season, and the Tigers will have to be at their best when they step onto the court next weekend.
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