Women's Basketball: Bears and Bulldogs visit Jadwin in rematches

“The standings so far have just been a big surprise — which is expected in the Ivy League — because, from top to bottom, these teams know each other so well,” senior guard and co-captain Addie Micir said. “Every weekend holds some surprises for each team.”

Princeton (17-4 overall, 6-1 Ivy League) is coming off two strong victories over Columbia and Cornell last Friday and Saturday, respectively. In their 57-35 victory over Columbia, the Tigers displayed their best defensive performance of the season, allowing fewer points than they had in any single game since 1996. Princeton’s defense has been strong overall in its recent games, limiting all Ivy opponents except Harvard to 50 points or less.

While the Tigers scored just 20 points in the first half against the Lions, they came out strong in the first half against Cornell. Though the Big Red came back to pull within two points at the half, junior center Devona Allgood’s career-high 22 points helped Princeton run away with the game in the second half. In recognition of her efforts against Cornell, Allgood — who also led the team with 13 points against Columbia — was named Ivy League Player of the Week.

But when the Bulldogs play Princeton on Friday, the Tigers will be facing a different team than the one they beat 52-37 in the third game of their Ivy League season. Despite a poor performance in their non-conference schedule, during which they amassed a 4-10 record, Yale has ridden strong defense and sophomore guard Megan Vasquez’s average of 13.7 points per game to a 6-2 league record, good for second place. It has won three of their past four games, with their only other Ivy League loss 67-57 at Columbia.

During the first game in New Haven, Conn., between the Tigers and the Bulldogs, Princeton came out flat in the first half and entered the locker room behind, 22-20. This time in Jadwin, the Tigers will try to be much more explosive on offense coming off the tipoff.

“We’re going to have to come out and knock down shots at the beginning of the game and come out up-tempo,” junior forward Lauren Edwards said.

While head coach Courtney Banghart acknowledged that her team underperformed against the Bulldogs in their last matchup, she said she is confident going into Friday night’s game.

“We didn’t play a very good first half against Yale. I would hope that we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and that we know a lot about Yale ... at this point in the season,” Banghart said. “As a team that’s 6-1, I don’t think we need to make a lot of changes; I just think we need to sharpen up.”

While sixth-place Brown (3-5, 7-15) may not have as intimidating of a record as the second-place Bulldogs, the team recorded three straight wins, including a one-point upset victory over Harvard last Saturday. While Princeton handed the Bears a solid 70-48 defeat the first time they met, the Tigers understand that they will be facing a team carrying a great deal of momentum.

“The most important things to think about are, ‘How did they beat Harvard?’ and ‘How did they lose to the teams that they lost to?’ ” senior guard and co-captain Krystal Hill said.

“Every team in the Ivy League has a varied style of play, and some work better against certain teams,” Edwards said. “Yale and Brown are certainly happy about their wins this weekend, so we have to come out this weekend ready to play our game against them.”

According to Micir, knowing that the Bulldogs and the Bears have both beaten the Crimson — the only Ivy team to have beaten the Tigers so far this season — does not make the players nervous but rather motivates them further.

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“It keeps us on our toes even more, knowing that anybody in this league can beat anybody else,” Micir said. “We have to come and bring our A-game every night.”