Women's Basketball: Micir’s 20 spearheads balanced attack in rout

Princeton (2-1 overall) had little difficulty against Stony Brook (0-4) and dominated throughout the contest. The Jadwin faithful were able to relax and enjoy the Tigers’ explosive offense and shutdown defense in a game whose outcome was never in doubt. The Seawolves converted a layup for the game’s first score but found points few and far between for the remaining 39 minutes.

In fact, Stony Brook could not convert again until nearly five minutes later, while Princeton poured in 13 unanswered points. The Orange and Black took control of the game early and converted on six of seven attempts during its early 13-0 run. The Tigers’ ability to convert on a high percentage of their opportunities early in the game erased any lingering memories of their difficulties against the Scarlet Knights.

“Tonight we knocked down those looks early and had lots of confidence for the rest of the game,” Micir said.

After surging to an early 11-point lead, the Tigers cooled off slightly over a six-minute stretch. Stony Brook did not score, however, as Princeton’s defense forced the Seawolves to take difficult shots and allowed few second-chance opportunities. Overall, the Tigers pulled down 40 rebounds to Stony Brook’s 22. Princeton’s strong effort under the glass was led by freshman center Devona Allgood’s 10 boards.

While the team maintained a strong defensive effort and dominated on the glass, Princeton’s offense clicked into gear behind Micir’s hot shooting. The Tigers moved the ball effectively on offense, dumping the ball into the post and kicking it out for three-point attempts. The post presence of junior center Cheryl Stevens, who finished with eight points and five rebounds, forced the Seawolves’ defense to collapse to the inside and left Micir open for multiple long-range opportunities.

Micir credited her teammates for her opportunities.

“A lot of our threes came from good inside-out looks,” Micir said. “Cheryl, Julia and all of the other post players have such a great presence down low, so when we throw it to them the defense collapses … They are great team players and were able to kick the ball out for easy looks.”

Micir’s seven straight points extended the lead to 24-10, and the Tigers never looked back en route to a commanding 43-18 halftime advantage. Princeton’s offense began to spread out the looks in the second half, resulting in an astonishing 13 players getting on the board. The team jumped to a 41-point lead with eight minutes, 37 seconds left and spent much of the remaining time refining its ball movement on offense.

The Tigers converted on 12 of 21 three-point attempts, with five by Micir and three by freshman guard Laura Johnson, who finished with 11 points.

The Seawolves struggled on offense and defense throughout the night, despite attempting different schemes to try to slow the Tigers down. They employed full-court pressure at times, but Princeton broke away to get a few easy baskets in transition.

“They were a pressure defense team, but we were able to use each other to get open looks,” Micir said.

Stony Brook found no such easy opportunities when faced with the Tigers’ defense. Though guards Kairsten Nunn and Misha Horsey led the team with nine and seven points respectively, the two shot only seven for 18 from the field.

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Princeton had the hot hand from all areas of the court and shot an impressive 57.7 percent for the game, while the Seawolves managed to convert on only 17 of 51 attempts. The Tigers also shot well from the free-throw line, converting on 80 percent of their attempts.

Princeton will look to start its first win streak of the year when it hosts Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday at 7 p.m.