On Tuesday evening, the women’s basketball team led by 36 points, only to allow Penn to cut down the deficit to 11 in just over five minutes. But the Quakers’ impressive comeback didn’t matter, as the Ivy League-champion Tigers (26-2 overall, 14-0 Ivy League) extended their epic winning streak to 21 games and capped their first 14-0 conference season.
“It’s surreal,” senior guard and co-captain Tani Brown said. “It’s easy to dream about, but to actually pull it off ... to sweep teams back to back feels unreal. It’s like a dream.”
Princeton started off with a 17-2 run against Penn (2-26, 1-13), and the Tigers eventually notched a 68-51 victory. The team had already clinched the conference championship and its first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament after beating Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., on Saturday night.
Princeton tore up the floor in the opening minutes on Tuesday, while Penn went one-for-20 from the floor in the first 13 minutes. At one point, it seemed like the Quakers might not even manage double digits. Still, the Tigers’ play wasn’t always pretty. On one play, Brown missed a shot, senior center and co-captain Cheryl Stevens attempted a putback, and sophomore guard Lauren Edwards was there for the third attempt and the two points. As usual, this kind of teamwork and hustle kept Penn far away from a comeback. The Quakers fought back to 32-15 by the halftime buzzer.
“As we went into the locker rooms, I told them that [they] had two problems,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “One of which is you’re very unselfish. And two, you’re very nice. As a result, when you’re unselfish, you have open looks and you’re not taking them. When you’re nice, you don’t want to pick on anyone.”
Taking that advice to heart, Princeton played aggressively and selfishly at the start of the first half. Anchored by three three-pointers from Edwards, the Tigers initiated a 26-7 run and a massive 36-point lead. But this wouldn’t last.
The pace slowed as every player on Princeton’s bench took to the floor, and the Quakers snatched the opportunity to attempt a comeback. Penn dominated as the Tigers went scoreless for more than five of the final eight minutes. The Quakers went on the rampage, narrowing the deficit to 11 with two minutes on the game clock.
Banghart gave Penn — a team that was running a 16-game losing streak until last Saturday — a great deal of credit.
“They were playing for nothing and they played their hearts out,” Banghart said.
After a timeout that allowed Princeton to regroup, junior guard Addie Micir netted a three-pointer to re-establish dominance and cement the win. Brown and Stevens subbed out with a minute to go, and the entire crowd took to its feet to honor the graduating co-captains.
After the game, the league champions celebrated with their conference trophy and the ceremonial cutting of the net. Freshman phenom forward Niveen Rasheed was named the Player of the Game for her double-double. Rasheed, the overwhelming favorite for Ivy League Rookie of the Year, scored 18 points and snagged 11 rebounds. Edwards helped out with 20 points.
Penn doesn’t have a player averaging more than eight points per game, but forward Jess Knapp and guard Sarah Bucar surpassed the milestone with a combined 23 points. The Quakers beat their conference-low average of 46 points per game, but the Tigers held them to a miserable 29.2 percent field goal mark.
Brown said that despite the win, Princeton did not play its best — especially in the middle of the second half.
“I think we definitely could’ve given a lot more energy,” Brown said. “You never give excuses, we never point to midterms, we never point to last weekend. For us as captains, it was very emotional, but we could’ve limited Penn’s points.”
This wrapped up Princeton’s regular-season schedule. Last year, the Tigers finished 14-14 overall and 9-5 in the Ivy League, enough to earn them third place. In her first two seasons, Banghart’s teams earned a 21-37 record, but her tally more than doubled after this season, giving her a 47-39 record and a 54.7 winning percentage.
The matchup marked Senior Night for the Tigers’ two captains. These two replaced sophomore center Devona Allgood and freshman guard Lauren Polansky in the starting lineup.
“They’re selfless, they have great energy, and they have found a way to get everyone around them playing better,” Banghart said. “People say, ‘Oh, you’re going to be even better next year,’ but I wouldn’t be so sure. I think without Tani and Cheryl’s leadership, we’ll have to see. The juniors have big shoes to fill.”
Princeton will play in its first NCAA tournament game on either Saturday, March 20, or Sunday, March 21. The bracket will be announced on Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
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