To open its Ivy League season, the women’s basketball team will host Penn (5-5 overall) at Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Princeton (11-3) is fresh off its last non-Ivy League game of the season on Tuesday, which was a 43-point win over La Salle (4-10), 94-51. The victory extended the Tigers’ winning streak to three games. Before La Salle, the team was kept busy over winter break, beating Davidson (5-7) 67-61 and Wake Forest (9-7) 71-63 on New Year’s Eve.
The Quakers are also on a three-game winning streak, with their most recent victory on Jan. 2 against Lafayette (7-8), 59-52. Penn’s streak started with a 69-48 win over Maine. It continued when the Quakers defeated St. Francis by 28 points, 66-38.
Last season, Penn and Princeton also opened their conference seasons against each other, which ended in a Princeton win, 70-39. The teams met again later in the season, and the Tigers were victorious again, 68-51.
Head coach Courtney Banghart noted that Penn has been improving thisw season, and the team is preparing for the matchup with that mindset. “They are going to run a variety of sets and be looking to score,” Banghart said. “We have an advantage inside ... If our defense can show, our offense will too.”
To prepare for games, the Tigers take it one team at a time, and they have had much success this way. “Each game is important this time of the year, and Penn is a good team,” senior guard and co-captain Addie Micir said. “We are very focused and ready to go.”
Since the second half of the season is entirely league games, the nonconference games in the first half are some of the most important preparation, and Princeton showed that it is ready for the challenges of the Ancient Eight. Banghart noted that the Tigers have played in many different situations — on the road, against major conferences and in a variety of styles — and have been successful in every challenge. Princeton will have to start the league season without star sophomore forward Niveen Rasheed, who injured her right knee during the team’s game against Davidson and was on crutches during Tuesday night’s game against La Salle. No timetable has been announced yet for Rasheed’s return. After an impressive nonconference slate, however, the Tigers are still the clear favorites for the Ivy League title.
“I think what made us so successful is our mindset that last year’s accomplishments aren’t enough,” junior center Devona Allgood said. “We could have come out this season complacent with last year, but we came back ready to prove that it wasn’t just a one-season deal. This year, we’ve been ready to compete against whomever, and we continue to get better in areas that we need to grow on.”
Micir said she believes that the team’s success comes from its compatibility and depth. “Each and every one of us enjoys playing with each other, and on any given night different players can step up and take over a game,” she said.
Banghart said she is impressed by the team’s commitment to its goals. “Our goal is to continue to get better everyday,” she said. “Hopefully that will lead to a championship.”
An aspect of Ivy League play that makes it different from the rest of the season is that every game is like a playoff game, which, Banghart said, makes it “such a great conference.”
“The Ivy League has an added sense of excitement because we know each other so well,” she added.
“We’re pretty excited, as usual, about the start of the Ivy League games,” Allgood said. “It always seems like this part of the season sneaks up on us, but we’ve had great pre-conference games to prepare us for what’s to come.”
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