Web Update: Women's basketball tops Monmouth 52-41

The game started slowly for both teams, with neither getting on the board until sophomore guard Addie Micir put up a jumper two minutes, 31 seconds into the matchup. The slow pace continued through the first half, with Princeton (4-4) breaking into double digits with 9:26 remaining on a jump shot by freshman guard Laura Johnson to give the Tigers an 11-2 lead.

Monmouth picked up its pace following Johnson’s shot, chipping away at the nine-point lead. The Hawks came within four points on guard Alexis Scott’s and-one. The four-point margin was the closest Monmouth came to taking a lead.

A little less than two minutes after Scott’s three points, senior forward and tri-captain Whitney Downs ended the Tigers’ 2:57 dry spell with a jumper. She ended the night with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals. Downs is a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

After a pair of missed layups by the Hawks, senior guard and tri-captain Jess Berry grabbed a rebound on a block by freshman center Devona Allgood. The Tigers transitioned down the court and extended their lead to 15-7 on a jumper in the paint from freshman forward Lauren Edwards.

The remainder of the second half saw Princeton get ahead by as many as 13 points, and the half ended with the Tigers leading 26-18.

Head coach Courtney Banghart must have given an excellent halftime speech, as Princeton went on an eight-point run in the first 7:30 of the second half. Downs sparked the effort at 18:38 and followed her jump shot up with a layup at 16:09. Senior forward Julia Berger made a layup, bringing the score to 30-18. Berger then knocked down two from the foul line for a 16-point Tiger lead.

The Tigers’ consistent play on defense forced the Hawks to use up much of the shot clock on each trip down the court, and Princeton took a commanding 23-point lead on an Allgood layup.

“In the locker room before the game [Devona] told me, ‘Coach, the confident Devona is back,’ ” Banghart said after the game. “She played great. She secured the post.”

The rookie was Princeton’s top performer in the game, netting 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

The Tigers entered a slump following Allgood’s bucket, however. Fourteen Hawk points and nearly six minutes later, Micir broke through for the Tigers on a jumper for a 50-39 lead.

“[Monmouth] is a team that has come back every game. They don’t see the scoreboard; they just play,” Banghart said. “We showed that we have some room for growth in terms of mental toughness.”

Monmouth’s long run was mostly a result of good foul shooting, with the officials calling a very tight game. The Hawks were also pulling down most of the rebounds, which Banghart attributed to their ability to crash the boards. Banghart said she was disappointed with her team’s efforts in the paint on defense, though.

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“[Monmouth] is used to missing,” Banghart said. “It’s hard to rebound out of a zone, I get that. But we were missing 50-50 balls.”

While the win wasn’t as pretty as the team might have wanted, it will get a chance to polish its game in Jadwin against Sacred Heart tomorrow at 4 p.m.

“That’s the best thing about our schedule,” Banghart said of the upcoming matchup. “We get to play again on Sunday.”