Women's Basketball: Princeton runs over Quakers

At the start of the year, lots of people had questions about the women’s basketball team, wondering if it would be talented enough to overcome its youth and lack of experience. But two months into the season, the Tigers are exactly where they believed they would end up — all alone at the top of the Ivy League standings.

Granted, six of the Ancient Eight have yet to play a league game. But Princeton (13-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) went to the Palestra and opened the Ivy League season with a 70-39 thrashing of rival Penn (1-12, 0-1). Though a few teams will join them at the top over the next week, the Tigers appear capable of staying there for a long time, having now won eight consecutive games by double digits.

The Quakers’ 39 points were the fewest that the Tigers have allowed all year, and again Princeton’s suffocating defense refused to allow easy shots. Penn made just 25.4 percent of its attempts from the floor, the third time in the last four games that the Tigers have held their opponent to less than 30-percent shooting. Princeton also controlled the boards and rarely allowed second chances, out-rebounding the Quakers 53-36.

The Tigers have earned a reputation as terrific openers, and Saturday was no exception. Sophomore guard Lauren Edwards sparked the scoring early, feeding sophomore center Devona Allgood for a layup six seconds into the game and hitting a three-pointer a minute later. Princeton made its first five field goals and took a 12-1 lead into the first media timeout. One minute later, Edwards hit a layup and sank another trey on consecutive possessions to extend the lead to 16.

Penn’s offense would pick up somewhat, paced by three triples and 11 first-half points from guard Sarah Bucar, but the Quakers would never again be within single digits of the lead. The Tigers dominated the inside, outscoring Penn 14-0 in the paint for the half, and the Quakers made just six of 28 shots in the period.

The second half provided more of the same, as Princeton again controlled the early minutes. Edwards opened the half with her fourth triple of the game, and freshman guard Niveen Rasheed scored ten of the Tigers’ next twelve points to extend the lead to 30. Rasheed finished with a game-high 18 points and ten rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season.

Princeton’s starters mostly sat out the final eleven minutes, but the Tigers continued to roll, leading by as many as 35 points.

Princeton’s offense had a different look than it has on most nights; it was held to less than 40-percent shooting for the first time since facing Big East power Rutgers in early December, and though it attempted 26 three-pointers — tying a season high — it made only eight. Rasheed (six-of-nine from the floor), Edwards (five-of-eight) and Allgood (five-of-eight) were very efficient, but the rest of the team combined to make just eight of 36 shots.

Instead, in a departure from their norm, the Tigers excelled at getting to the line. They came into the game having allowed opponents to shoot more free throws than they attempted, despite typically playing with leads, but the Tigers earned 20 foul shots to the Quakers’ six. Princeton converted these into 14 free points, led by Rasheed’s six-for-six effort.

Meanwhile, Princeton’s defense continued to give opponents teams fits.

Of Princeton’s last five opponents, only Fordham has made over one-third of its attempts from the floor — before playing Penn, it held Houston to 33.3 percent, Fairleigh Dickinson to 21.4 percent and La Salle to 28.8 percent.

“It’s really important that you know opponents really well, whether you know their offenses or their player personnel,” Edwards said. “Knowing opponents helps you anticipate their moves and who they like to go to.”

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Really focusing on how every team is so different and what they like to do has helped our scoring defense,” she explained.

The rest of the Ivy League begins conference play this weekend. The marquee game will be played Saturday night, when Harvard visits Dartmouth in a battle of the two preseason favorites. Princeton will have a couple weeks to rest before hosting Brown and Yale at the end of the month, but the Tigers are not concerned about losing their momentum.

“We’re just going to be practicing really hard throughout the break and try to keep in shape, despite all the distractions,” Edwards said. “We know our goals; we know what we want. Now we just have to work hard to get there.”