Rasheed & Co. extend unbeaten streak to 14

The women’s basketball team made its annual trip to the Empire State last weekend, taking on Ivy League foes Columbia and Cornell on back-to-back days. Though it was their first full weekend on the road, the Tigers (19-2 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) suffered no ill effects from the travel, cruising to a pair of 20-point victories. At the halfway point of league play, Princeton has now defeated every opponent by a double-digit margin and is the clear favorite to win the conference championship.

“It’s a great feeling to know that we can beat everyone in the league,” sophomore center Devona Allgood said. “The second half of the season is going to be a little tougher, because we have played everybody once, and they know what kind of team we are. But at least now we know that it can be done.”

The Tigers began their weekend with their third consecutive game against a projected title contender with their visit to Columbia (14-8, 5-3). The Lions were no match for Princeton, though, falling behind early and eventually losing 77-55. Cornell (6-15, 1-7) fared no better, as the Tigers pulled away late to defeat the Big Red 72-49. Princeton never trailed in either game and has now won 14 straight games by double digits.

Columbia’s biggest area of strength this season has been the paint. The Lions came into the weekend leading the Ancient Eight in rebounding margin, and forward Judie Lomax paces the league by a healthy margin in both points and rebounds per game. But it was the Tigers who dominated the inside, as they grabbed five more rebounds than their opponents and outscored Columbia 38-20 in the paint.

Post players have had trouble against Princeton this season, and Lomax was no exception, managing only 11 points on 14 attempts. Perhaps most impressively, the Tigers — who have had some difficulty keeping opponents off the line — held Lomax to only one free-throw attempt, well below her league-leading average of seven per game.

On the other end of the court, the Tigers played perhaps their best all-around offensive game of the season, led by inside threats Allgood and freshman forward Niveen Rasheed. The trend was set early, as Princeton jumped out to a 22-7 lead in the first 10 minutes, thanks to 12 points from Rasheed and eight from Allgood. Moments later, a three-pointer from sophomore guard Laura Johnson extended the lead to 29-9.

Princeton entered the half with an 18-point lead. The Lions struck first in the second period with a three-pointer from guard Melissa Shafer, but their momentum would not last long. The Tigers went on a 13-2 run to blow open the game, capped by a three-pointer from junior guard Addie Micir, who finished with 14 points.

The Lions held Princeton scoreless for a five-minute span in the middle of the period, cutting the deficit by 10 points to get back into the game. But Rasheed then took over, scoring six points in a two-minute span to put the game away. The freshman finished with 27 points, tying a season high. She also grabbed 14 rebounds while defending Lomax for much of the game.

“I knew who I had to guard, and I stopped [Lomax] from getting rebounds,” Rasheed said. “I stayed disciplined and knew how to be a big part of the team. Defensively, I played really well, so the offense just came from my defense.”

Princeton traveled upstate on Saturday to face Cornell, which had won its first league game the previous day against Penn. The Big Red would not complete the sweep, however, as once again the Tigers’ frontcourt supplied a dominating performance.

Rasheed and Allgood again took control out of the gate, scoring the Tigers’ first 20 points of the game. Their streak was broken by a three from Johnson, which extended the lead to double digits; Princeton took a 13-point lead going into halftime. Rasheed finished with a team-high 18 points and 15 rebounds for her second double-double of the weekend, while Allgood added 16 points and nine boards.

Cornell made things interesting early in the second half, as consecutive three-pointers from guard Allie Fedorowicz closed the margin to just five points. But a couple minutes later, junior guard Krystal Hill sank a three of her own, sparking a 7-0 run that would put the game out of reach.

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The Tigers had a mediocre shooting performance by their lofty standards; their starting guards combined to shoot 3-18, and, as a team, they made 40 percent of their attempts, essentially the same as the Big Red. But Princeton thoroughly dominated all other aspects of the game, shootingt a season-high 75 field goals while Cornell attempted just 48.

The Orange and Black took care of the ball very well, committing only eight turnovers while forcing 20, which allowed it to compile a 25-0 advantage in points off turnovers. But offensive rebounds provided even more of these extra shots, as Princeton collected 23 of its own misses, a season high.

“Rebounding is what wins games,” Allgood said. “Most of the games that we’ve been successful in, we’ve won the rebounding battle, so rebounding is something very important to us. Coach [Courtney] Banghart has drilled that into our heads, and it’s pretty evident in our record.”

The Tigers now stand at 7-0 in the Ivy League, two games ahead of Harvard (14-7, 5-2), while every other team has at least three losses. With seven games remaining, Princeton has put itself in a great position to win its first outright Ivy League championship since 1978 and its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.