Both teams came out with a strong defense in what was the lowest-scoring first half of any of Princeton’s games so far this season. Senior guard and co-captain Addie Micir opened the game with a three-pointer on the first possession, but the next score did not come until more than four minutes later, when junior center Devona Allgood sunk a layup in the paint. The Tigers were not able to build up any momentum, however, and Alyssa Baron sunk two jumpers and a three-pointer to give the Quakers a 10-5 lead with 10 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the half.
For these first 10 minutes, the Tigers were not able to successfully drive into the paint or create good looks at the basket for themselves. They passed excessively around the perimeter, and many of their feeds inside to Allgood resulted in either a turnover — Allgood had four in the first half — or a pass back out with little time left on the shot clock, forcing the Tigers to take poor shots. This lack of quality opportunities showed in the Tigers’ shooting percentage: they shot a meager 8-25 from the floor in the first half.
“We were out of rhythm,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “We were looking to put them away. We were looking for a quick fix when every Ivy game is a battle. The kids were looking ahead to their 20-day break a little bit, and we didn’t read very well.”
The uncharacteristic missed shots, slow pace of play and lack of dynamic drives suggested that the Tigers were missing the explosiveness and playmaking ability of their leading scorer, sophomore forward Niveen Rasheed, who injured her right knee in a game against Davidson over the break. When points were hard to come by, Rasheed often sparked the offense with a fast break layup, a pull-up jumper or a drive into the paint. No timetable has been released for Rasheed’s return, but Banghart said the team would have an update early this week.
After layups by Micir and sophomore center Megan Bowen cut the Quaker lead to 10-9, Princeton and Penn traded baskets for the next 10 minutes. Two lead changes later, a three-pointer by junior guard Laura Johnson and a layup by Allgood sent the teams into the locker room with the game tied at 20.
When play began in the second half, the Tigers looked like a completely different team.
“It wasn’t anything negative, it wasn’t us getting in trouble,” Bowen said of the team’s halftime discussion. “It was mainly us looking to battle and fight.” Bowen was named player of the game after her nine points helped the Tigers keep it close in the first half and pull away in the second.
Micir, who played all 40 minutes of Saturday night’s game, stepped up at the start of the second period, beginning the Tigers’ run with a three-pointer, a jumper, and two free throws. Her 18 total points, 13 of which came in the second half, led all scorers and contributed to the 18-0 run Princeton went on in the first 10 minutes of the period. During this period, the Tigers read each other much better and created more looks. Seven minutes in, Allgood led a charging Lauren Edwards with a bounce pass, which the junior forward put away for a layup from the right side to increase the home team’s lead to 16.
“Towards the second half, both teams started to get a little wear and tear,” Edwards said. “You just want to cut and find your opportunities.”
While Princeton’s offense only came alive in the second half, its defense was dominant throughout the game. Led by Edwards’ four steals, the Tigers forced 10 turnovers in each half and limited Penn to 46 shots, compared with Princeton’s 59. Thanks to sophomore point guard Lauren Polansky’s full-court press and the Tigers’ hounding perimeter defense, the shot clock often wound down by the time the Quakers even began to run a play.
“That’s what’s great with us this year. We’re able to go make-miss, we’re able to go zone, we’re able to go man, we can mix things up,” Bowen said. “We have strong defenders on this team, and that’s all we need.”
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