Women's Basketball: Strong second half propels Scarlet Knights

In a closely fought contest at Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday night, Rutgers (5-4 overall) edged ahead in the second half to claim a 60-50 victory over the women’s basketball team. Despite Princeton’s (5-2) early surge — the Tigers scored the first six points of the game — the team could not come away with the victory.

Princeton powered to a 13-2 lead within the first five minutes of the game, but the Scarlet Knights clawed their way back. Rutgers , which still trailed by 10 nearly 12 minutes into the half, finished the half on a 16-2 run. The Scarlet Knights’ rally was ignited a substitution by head coach C. Vivian Stringer, who subbed in freshman forward Monique Oliver and senior center Rashidat Junaid at the 8:29 mark of the first half. Rutgers finished the half ahead by one, with the score 28-27. The Scarlet Knights would not relinquish this lead, but the Tigers’ unrelenting offensive and defensive pressure made the game a considerable struggle.

Within the opening minute of the game, freshman guard Niveen Rasheed netted a layup for the Tigers, following that up with a second basket a minute later. Princeton’s defense presented a challenge, forcing Rutgers to attempt a series of quick shots. The Scarlet Knights used their speed to break through the Orange and Black’s firm barrier. Three-pointers for junior guard Addie Micir and sophomore guard Lauren Edwards added to the Tigers’ early success. A great steal from sophomore guard Laura Johnson facilitated another trey from Micir, bringing the Tigers up to a promising 20-12 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Then the Scarlet Knights responded. Layups by Junaid and sophomore guard April Sykes closed the gap to 22-14. Sykes notched another layup before sophomore guard Nikki Speed hit a three. Junaid and Sykes each scored before Oliver added back to back layups, the second of which was a three point play. Within less than 5 minutes, an eight point lead had turned into a four point deficit.

Rutgers quickly opened a nine-point lead in the second half on the strength of a Junaid layup and three consecutive scores from senior guard Brittany Ray. The Tigers closed the gap to three points at the 14:01 mark when Lauren Polansky connected on one of two free throws. But Rutgers could not be conquered.

Princeton closed the gap to three once again at the 7:56 mark on a free throw by Devona Allgood, but the 44-41 score represented the closest Princeton would come for the rest of the game. The Scarlet Knights pushed their lead to 10 with 3:28 remaining following two free throws from Junaid, and coasted comfortably to a 60-50 victory.

The narrow margin of defeat is proof of Princeton’s rapid improvements. Last year, the Tigers fell 83-35 to the Scarlet Knights.

“They’re big and physical, and they try to push us around,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “Last year, they did.”

Rutgers did not hesitate to show its strength, knocking Princeton players to the floor throughout the game and committing 10 fouls in the first half. Yet the Tigers stood strong in the face of such aggression.

“They care a lot more about what’s on their jerseys than they care about what is on anyone else’s jersey,” Banghart said.

This was especially evident in the case of sophomore center Devona Allgood, who contributed 14 points in the matchup.

Banghart praised Allgood as having “a tremendous game” and being “key to [the team’s] success.”

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Allgood spoke positively about the Tigers’ energy throughout the game.

“I think that we played hard and probably made more shots than they did,” Allgood said. “But there were a lot of times when [the Scarlet Knights] went on a run and we didn’t.”

The second half saw a series of quick turnovers and baskets for Rutgers that the Tigers were unable to match. The Scarlet Knights relied on physicality, bringing themselves over the foul limit with only 12 minutes gone in the second half.

Shots from Edwards and Allgood closed Rutgers’ lead to three with eight minutes remaining, but this was the closest the Tigers would get to mounting a comeback. The Tigers also went over the foul limit, allowing the Scarlet Knights’ top scorer, guard Brittany Ray, to net a series of shots from the charity stripe.

But the Tigers went down fighting. A quick basket from junior guard Krystal Hill, assisted by Allgood, showed Princeton’s determination. These qualities should serve the Tigers well in their next game, as they go on to battle Rider in an away matchup on Tuesday evening.