Last night’s game was a tale of two strikingly different halves as the women’s basketball team ultimately cruised to an 86-68 victory over Lehigh at Jadwin Gymnasium. Princeton surged ahead in the first half, leading the Mountain Hawks, 58-27, heading into the locker room. Despite poor shooting from the field in the second frame, the Tigers managed to maintain and increase their lead to hold on for the win.
Knocking off defending Patriot League champion Lehigh (5-2) gave Princeton (5-1) its second win in as many games, and it will provide the Tigers with some confidence before they host perennial power Rutgers on Saturday night.
Though the Mountain Hawks netted the first points of the game, the Tigers were quick to respond, as freshman guard Niveen Rasheed scored a three-pointer less than two minutes into the game. Rasheed’s basket pushed Princeton into the lead, where it stayed comfortably for the rest of the game.
The Tigers were relentless on offense through the remainder of the half. A 16-3 run during a span of just over five minutes gave Princeton a solid 20-point margin with eight minutes remaining in the frame. The Tigers continued to pile on the points and led, 43-15, with four minutes to go after another long scoring stretch.
The team’s largest lead of 32 points came toward the very end of the half, as sophomore guard Addie Micir netted a three-pointer as well as two free throws.
Rasheed showed that the Tigers, despite their lead, had no intentions of letting up, as she powered down the court and scored with less than 10 seconds on the clock in the first half to further boost Princeton’s lead.
But after an impressive first half, in which the Tigers showed unrelenting energy, the team began to tire in the second.
‘We came unglued a little bit,’ head coach Courtney Banghart explained about her team’s surprising drop-off after such a strong performance in the first half.
Princeton committed 11 fouls to the Mountain Hawks’ seven, bringing it over the limit and awarding Lehigh opportunities to begin to close the gap at the charity stripe.
Lehigh recorded the first points in the second half, with a trey from Alex Ross in the opening minute, and the Mountain Hawks began to challenge the Princeton defense, which noticeably slowed in dropping back to defend. The Tigers, however, were able to respond to the challenge, with Micir and Rasheed both recording steals and sophomore guard Laura Johnson adding more three-pointers.
Sophomore forward Lauren Edwards and Rasheed co-led the Tigers in scoring, as each netted 21 points. The total was a career-high for the talented rookie, who ranks first on the team in points scored thus far this season.
Johnson also had an impressive first half, scoring three three-pointers for the Tigers and tallying 17 points by the end of the game.
A strong Princeton defense forced turnovers, allowing the Tigers to confound the Mountain Hawks offensively and keep up relentless pressure. The defense remained solid in the second half, making up ground for a dearth of offensive firepower.
Sophomore forward Devona Allgood and Rasheed both recorded a team-high eight rebounds on the night, and Edwards collected a second-best seven.
Senior guard and co-captain Tani Brown praised her team’s offensive rebounding, which was evident throughout, but she said she felt that, especially in the lagging second half, the defensive effort could have been better, since Lehigh was able to narrow Princeton’s margin of victory with two three-pointers from Ross in quick succession with less than three minutes remaining.
Ultimately, however, Princeton’s efforts early on were rewarded, as the game ended in the Tigers’ favor, 86-68.
Rutgers will be Princeton’s next challenge. Banghart will ensure that the Tigers won’t rest on this convincing win, declining to praise any particular aspect of her team’s performance after the game.
“We can play better. And we will,” Banghart said.
With the Tigers’ stellar first-half showing, this seems imminently likely.
Hopefully for the Orange and Black, it can put two solid halves together in Jadwin this Saturday night.
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