Women's Basketball: Delle Donne unable to lift Delaware

From a look at the box score, it would appear that Elena Delle Donne dominated. Delaware’s star forward lit up the women’s basketball team for 35 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Yet she was doing exactly what the Tigers expected her to do.

While Delle Donne put up gaudy numbers, Princeton (3-0 overall) got production all the way down the roster. Four players scored double figures as the Tigers rolled to a 68-59 victory over the Blue Hens (1-1) at Jadwin Gymnasium last weekend.

Princeton knew that Delle Donne, once the top-ranked high school player in the nation, would find ways to score. But the Tigers aimed to limit the opportunities that she could create for other players and succeeded, as Delle Donne managed only one assist. Princeton’s stifling defense held the rest of the Blue Hens to just 24 points on 32 shots and forced Delaware into 20 turnovers.

“We just play defense, and then offense comes,” junior forward Addie Micir said. “We have a defense-to-offense mentality, and we played really well. We were really juiced on defense, and everyone contributed.”

Princeton turned defense into offense right from the start, stripping the ball from Delle Donne after the opening tip and converting it into a three-pointer from Micir on the other end. Princeton held Delaware scoreless through its first eight possessions while moving the ball well on the offensive end. Another trey from Micir and one from sophomore point guard Laura Johnson, starting in place of injured freshman Lauren Polansky, helped give the Tigers a commanding 13-0 lead four minutes into the contest.

Delle Donne spent five minutes on the bench early in the first half due to foul trouble and was held scoreless through the game’s first 13 minutes, but she could not be shut down forever. The forward scored nine consecutive points in a one-minute span, including two contested three-pointers over the arms of freshman guard Niveen Rasheed, to bring Delaware to within two points. But the Tigers bounced back and held a five-point lead at the half.

The Princeton offense came out firing to open the second half, and nothing the Blue Hens tried defensively could stop them. Delle Donne hit a three-pointer five minutes into the period to close the gap to four points, but Johnson answered on the next possession with one of her own.

Trailing early in the third period, the Blue Hens began trapping frequently to try to rattle the young Tigers, but Princeton was more than up to the challenge. The Orange and Black ran off 10 straight points in a two-minute span, fueled again by triples from Micir and Johnson, as well as a steal and fast-break basket from forward Lauren Edwards, who finished with 14 points.

Delaware got back on the board with a few free throws, but the Tigers remained firmly in control. As they had early in the first half, they successfully limited Delle Donne’s influence. Midway through the period, the Delaware star went seven consecutive possessions without touching the ball on the offensive end. This sequence was capped off emphatically by Micir, who hit her fourth three-pointer of the game to put Princeton up 60-43 with nine minutes left.

“That was the best basketball I’ve ever seen Addie play,” head coach Courtney Banghart said of the junior, who led the home team with 18 points and six assists. “She did a lot off the dribble, she was steady with the basketball, and she played all 40 minutes.”

But though the game seemed out of reach, Delaware did its best to make things interesting. The Blue Hens ran off nine straight points, seven from Delle Donne, to get within single digits. Princeton got a bucket from sophomore center Devona Allgood in the post to stem the tide, but Delle Donne answered with a three-pointer.

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The Tigers’ offense continued to struggle. With two-and-a-half minutes left, the Blue Hens closed the margin to five points with another bucket from Delle Donne, who outscored Princeton 14-8 over the game’s final nine minutes. But the Tigers’ defense found another gear and preserved the lead. With a minute left, Allgood blocked a shot and recovered the ball, and the Tigers wrapped up the game with free throws.

Princeton will travel to California over Thanksgiving break, playing at UCLA and UC-Irvine. Banghart said she knows that her team will have to play a much more complete offensive game to remain undefeated after the West Coast trip.

“We have to be able to exploit mismatches down low,” Banghart said. “We have to be able to set each other up better. Defensively, I’m really pleased with where we are, but I think offensively we can still grow.”