Women's Basketball: Princeton victorious over Cornell, Columbia in final two home games

“The last two weekends have both been very successful, and it’s exactly the way we want to finish our season,” freshman guard Lauren Edwards said. “Even though we lost contention to win the Ivy League this year, we wanted to end the season on a good note for our seniors.”

The Tigers (13-14 overall, 8-5 Ivy League) beat Columbia (13-15, 6-8) 68-63 in a close game Friday night. Both teams began the game with scoring spurts: Princeton had scored nine points with 16 minutes, 51 seconds remaining in the half before Columbia retaliated, netting 10 points.

The Tigers launched another 9-0 run less than two minutes later to bring the score to 18-10. The Lions came back with another 15 points in the next five minutes to gain a 25-18 lead. Sophomore guard Addie Micir ultimately put Princeton back on top with a three-pointer, but Columbia came back with another 10 points to end the half with a 35-23 lead.

The second half began with the Lions attaining their largest lead of the game with a 14-point margin, but Edwards rallied her team with two shots.

With 12:20 left in the game, the Tigers had shrunk the deficit to two. Both teams traded baskets before Micir got past Columbia’s defense to give Princeton 59-58 lead.

Tied at 63 with 37 seconds left, head coach Courtney Banghart called a timeout to give the team time to rest. When play resumed, Princeton tallied five points with the help of freshman center Devona Allgood to give the Tigers a victory.

“These past four wins have been rewarding, mostly because of the contribution from every member on the team,” Edwards said. “When we are all playing together and everyone is looking to score, we know we will get a win. On the court, it’s nice to know that your teammates have your back and that you have theirs.”

With a crowd of more than 1,200 spectators watching, the Tigers beat the Big Red (10-16, 6-8) 76-55 on Saturday night. A little more than five minutes into the game, Princeton and Cornell were locked at eight before the Tigers went on a 17-7 run to bring the score to 25-15 with seven minutes to go in the period.

Cornell came back with a 15-point run to make it a one-point game with less than four minutes left. The Tigers scored another five points to end the half ahead, 36-32.

“We’re finally starting to play as a team, and we just need to keep doing that,” Edwards said.

“Our defensive intensity is always something that can be improved, as well as our offensive execution.”

The second half started with Princeton scoring eight points to the Big Red’s two, giving the Tigers a 10-point lead with 16:06 left to play. Four minutes later, senior guard Jessica Berry, who tallied half the Tigers’ points, increased the lead to 12.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“Our seniors have really stepped up lately in their leadership and are pushing us through all of these games,” Edwards said. “Their desire to win rubs off on the underclassmen, and it has forced us to play much harder.”

The Tigers then went on a 14-4 run, lifting their lead to 22 with more than four minutes left on the clock. The teams continued to trade baskets, but the Tigers retained a comfortable lead. Junior guard Tani Brown scored the final basket of the game, bringing the score to 76-55.

The Tigers will travel to Philadelphia this Tuesday to play the Quakers in Princeton’s final game of the season.