Women’s basketball drubs George Washington 75–50

This Sunday in Washington, D.C., Princeton women’s basketball (2–0 overall, 0–0 Ivy) decisively defeated George Washington University (1–1) 75–50. This win made it two victories in two games played for new head coach Carla Berube.

The game’s competitive start gave little indication of what would eventually be a straightforward, dominating win for the Tigers. GW raced out to a 10-point lead with 2:35 left in the quarter. However, a fast-paced series — a jumper by senior forward Bella Alarie, combined with a pair of three-pointers by sophomore guard Grace Stone and a layup by junior guard Carlie Littlefield — thrust Princeton back into the game. As the first quarter drew to a close, Princeton found itself behind by just one point, despite only shooting 29 percent from the field.

As the second quarter went on, the Tigers began to find their rhythm, with a pair of layups by Alarie drawing them level just 1:15 into the second period. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Neenah Young closed out the second quarter, leaving the Tigers up three going into halftime.

As in last week’s game against Rider, Princeton took control of the game with a dominant third quarter. The second half opened with eight unanswered points for the Tigers, courtesy of another layup by Alarie, a steal and finish by Littlefield, and a pair of free throws plus a layup from senior forward Taylor Baur.

Princeton did not look back, outscoring GW 24–9 in the quarter, and headed into the fourth quarter with a healthy 17-point lead. Princeton’s strong third-quarter offensive production was augmented by a stifling defensive performance which lead to GW shooting a mere 20 percent from the field.

The lead proved ultimately insurmountable as the Colonials could not bring themselves within 16 points of Princeton in what was a comfortable fourth quarter for the Tigers.

This game was particularly notable as, with 10 steals, Littlefield tied the program record in the category previously set by Claire Tomasiewicz ’79 in 1976. As a result of her strong performance against Rider, and her exceptional double-double performance this Sunday (22 points and eight rebounds to go with her 10 steals), Littlefield was named the Ivy League Player of the Week for the third time in her Princeton career.

After this Sunday’s victory, the Tigers go on to take on Seton Hall (3–0) at the Prudential Center this Friday.