Women's Basketball: Team victorious in roadies over Brown, Yale

“I’m most proud that we imposed our will to win for 40 minutes both nights,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “These athletes play incredibly hard, and when they play together on both ends like they did Saturday night, they are a very difficult team to beat. Winning in this league is never an easy thing, so we were thrilled to return to Princeton with back-to-back road wins.”

The Tigers (11-14 overall, 6-5 Ivy League) won 61-38 against the Bears (3-23, 1-11) on Friday at the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I. At the start of the game, Brown took a 4-1 lead before sophomore guard Addie Micir made a three-pointer to tie the score with less than 17 minutes left to play. With 13 minutes, 57 seconds on the clock, Princeton led by 12-4. The teams traded baskets, bringing the score to 25-18 with more than two minutes remaining in the half. The Tigers ended the half leading 29-19 with powerful momentum going into the second half.

The second half began with the Tigers going on a 12-point run, bringing their lead to 22 points. Brown soon came back with a vengeance, scoring 16 out of the next 20 points. The Bears cut down Princeton’s lead to 11 points at 47-36 with four minutes left to play. But Micir and senior guard Whitney Downs made their free throws, and Princeton added 10 points to end the game with a double-digit lead. Downs is also a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

The Tigers shot 47.6 percent from the floor, while the Bears only shot 26.4 percent. Micir added 13 points, and Downs and sophomore guard Lauren Edwards each scored 10 points. Brown’s Sadiea Williams tallied 13 points and had seven rebounds against the Tigers.

Princeton continued its winning streak the following day by beating the Bulldogs (11-15, 4-8) 61-53 at Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn.

“We spent a lot of time in practice last week preparing for Yale’s pressure-style defense, working on offensive actions that we thought would be effective and preparing to defend the dribble penetration of both Brown and Yale,” Banghart said. “We also continued to make strides in our offensive continuity — that’s been a big focus over the past few weeks.”

Edwards started the game by scoring a layup, and Princeton built a strong 11-point lead over Yale with more than eight minutes left in the first half. Later in the half, the Bulldogs went on an 11-point run to bring the score to 21-17, but the Tigers responded with a nine-point run of their own. Edwards went two-for-two on her free throws to bring Princeton’s lead to 16 points. Despite a late Yale flurry, the half ended with the Tigers leading 39-26.

The second half began with the teams trading baskets, keeping the Tigers’ lead at 16 points with 5:40 on the clock. The Bulldogs then went on an 8-0 run to bring the score 59-51 with more than three minutes remaining. Downs stole the ball and made a layup with more than a minute left, and Yale was unable to recover, giving Princeton another strong win.

Princeton shot 37.5 percent from the field to Yale’s 32.8 percent. Freshman center Devona Allgood scored a career-high 17 points and added 13 rebounds.

“Devona Allgood had a great weekend. She’s a fierce competitor and was a real force on the inside,” Banghart said. “She had a big offensive night on Saturday with a career-high 17 points, but also changed the trajectory of many of Yale’s shots on the defensive end. She continues to get better every day.”

The Tigers will face Columbia and Cornell this weekend at Jadwin Gymnasium.

“A team on a mission realizes that there always room for improvement,” Banghart said. “These athletes will come to practice Monday focused and ready to compete, as they have every Monday — after a winning weekend or a losing weekend. We aim to improve every day.”