The Tigers will finally take to the court again Friday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m., tipping off against Dartmouth (5-9, 1-0) at Jadwin Gymnasium. One day later, Princeton will get another opportunity to flex its muscle against an Ivy League foe, battling Harvard (8-7, 0-1) at home at 6 p.m.
The Tigers will certainly have had a lot of time to reflect on their convincing victory over the Quakers. In that game, freshman forward Lauren Edwards shined, netting a team-leading 16 points.
Edwards said the team is trying to keep the large hiatus between games from affecting its form.
“We are practicing hard, hoping that the big break between games won’t hurt our performance on Jan. 30,” Edwards said. “It isn’t hard to balance basketball and finals during finals period, mostly because we have that big break between games, and we aren’t traveling at all either.”
In the victory over Penn, the Orange and Black hit the ground running and never looked back, starting the matchup with an 18-3 run. The quick start was crucial to the team’s overall success in the game. Princeton also capitalized on the Quakers’ mistakes, collecting 17 points off turnovers.
Edwards noted that her team had the drive to excel against Penn, which was a big reason for the victory.
“Our team had a lot of success against Penn because we knew it was our Ivy opener at home and that we were a better team than them individually and collectively,” Edwards said. “We came out playing hard and ended the game with the same intensity.”
The Big Green and the Crimson shared the Ivy League crown in 2008 and are perennial contenders for the title. To perform well against these two teams, the Tigers will need fast starts like the ones they exhibited against the Quakers.
Dartmouth kicked off its Ivy League season on Jan. 10 with a 59-55 victory over Harvard. Standout forward Brittany Smith netted a double-double, with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and added three steals and two assists in the win. For her efforts, Smith earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors.
More recently, the Big Green is coming off a 62-49 victory over New Hampshire. In this matchup, Dartmouth played solid defense, holding the Cats to a cold 29 percent shooting for the game. On the offensive side, the Big Green took care of business, sinking 47 percent of its shots.
Harvard will be looking to make up for its loss against Dartmouth when it visits Princeton. This season, the Crimson has enjoyed production from newcomer guard Brogan Berry, who has averaged 10.3 points per game. Berry scored a personal-best 20 points in the loss to the Big Green, with 12 points coming from beyond the arc. She was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her efforts against Dartmouth.
In addition to guarding Berry, the Tigers will have to watch forward Emma Markley, the Crimson’s main scoring threat. She leads all Harvard players with an average of 13.3 points per game.
Though Princeton will face a Crimson team that can net points — Harvard averages just more than 67 points per game — the Tigers have weapons of their own, including Edwards. She ranks second on the team behind sophomore guard Addie Micir, who averages 12 points and four rebounds per game.
Edwards has an optimistic outlook on her team’s prospects against the upcoming Ivy League opponents, especially given the 20-day break.
“Dartmouth and Harvard are very different teams than Penn, so we will have to prepare to play against those particular athletes and teams,” Edwards said. “We just hope to keep getting better every practice.”
Fortunately for the Tigers, they still have two weeks until they tip off against the Big Green and the Crimson at Jadwin Gym. And you can bet that Princeton will be ready to take on its top two Ancient Eight foes.
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