Coming off a hot stretch that included a blowout win against No. 20 Oklahoma and a near upset against No. 3 UCLA, No. 25 women’s basketball (5–2 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) returned home Wednesday to take on the Seton Hall Pirates (4–3 overall, 0–0 Big East). This was their first game as a nationally ranked team since October of last year.
Princeton has been through a gauntlet of opponents, having already faced three ranked teams before heading into a tough test against the Big East’s Seton Hall. “It’s great, we want to be playing your Big East, your Power Five, to challenge us and play some of the best teams we can to see where we’re at and where we can get better,” head coach Carla Berube told The Daily Princetonian after the game.
The Tigers eventually came out on top in what ended up being a double-overtime, three-hour game in Jadwin Gymnasium. With 12 ties, 14 lead changes, and 82 possessions each, nothing was certain until the final buzzer — but Princeton walked away with a 75–71 win.
“They gave us everything we could handle and more,” Berube said. “They were tough, they were aggressive, they just made everything really really hard.”
Senior guard Kaitlyn Chen and first-year guard Skye Belker built off of their respective Fort Myers Tip-Off All-Island team and Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors with 21 points for Chen and 18 for Belker, who were a big part of pushing the Tigers over the top.
After the tip, a slow offensive start from Princeton and aggressive inside attack from Seton Hall put the Pirates up 8–2. First-year guard Mari Bickley started a Princeton run with a transition three, and the Tigers went up 12–10 for their first lead of the game off of a step back three from first-year guard Ashley Chea. After a three from first-year forward Fadima Tall and a midrange from Seton Hall’s Azana Baines, Princeton ended the first quarter with a 17–12 lead.
Princeton 17, Seton Hall 12 | 9:27 2nd @fadimahtall shows off from beyond the arc!
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) November 30, 2023
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📊 - https://t.co/JIZdHJF5Rc#GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/a0HcYwUESh
The Pirates went on a 10–4 run coming out of the break behind eight points from Sha’Lynn Hagans, but Princeton earned a 23–22 lead back with a post score from junior forward Parker Hill. Hill posted a career high in minutes, and was a defensive anchor for the Tigers with four steals and four blocks. After the game, she emphasized defensive effort, saying, “I value defense, usually more than offense” and “the stops and blocks were what helped us most.”
Belker got things going for Princeton with six points on three straight possessions, but Seton Hall continued to answer by taking efficient shots on the inside as the lead changed hands five more times before halftime. The two teams entered the break tied at 29.
In the first half, each team had turnover troubles with 12 for the Pirates and 11 for the Tigers, and the only real edge for either team was three-point shooting, where Seton Hall was leading 75 percent to Princeton’s 33 percent.
The Princeton defense came out strong from the half to hold Seton Hall scoreless for three minutes and build a six-point lead. Each side traded threes, post plays, and free throws to take the score to 42–37. With both teams over the foul limit, they started to go back and forth at the line in what was already a physical game. Chen converted a tough and-one, and a second chance layup from Seton Hall’s Makennah White at the buzzer gave the Tigers a 48–46 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Princeton 48, Seton Hall 44 | 0:30 3rd@kaitlynchenn2 with the AND-1!
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) November 30, 2023
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📊 - https://t.co/JIZdHJF5Rc#GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/PrHZGldMZZ
The fourth quarter opened with good defense and numerous steals and stops from both teams. With six minutes remaining, the two teams had managed a total of just three points in the quarter — the Tigers led 50–47.
The Princeton defense remained tight and only gave up one three heading into the final two minutes, but they would continue to be plagued by turnovers. Seton Hall tied the game on a step back jumpshot, but Chen then cut through the defense and converted on a tough jumper to take a 54–52 lead for Princeton.
After another Tiger stop, sophomore guard Madison St. Rose sank a corner three which appeared to be the dagger, giving Princeton a five-point lead with 49 seconds left.
Princeton 57, Seton Hall 52 | 0:44 4th@nat_strose extends the Tigers lead! What a shot!
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) November 30, 2023
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However, it wasn’t so easy as three Princeton turnovers in 48 seconds combined with a slew of timeouts and replay reviews gave Seton Hall the ball back with exactly one second on the clock, with Princeton still ahead at 59–56.
Seton Hall sophomore guard Micah Gray threw up a long three that banked in off of the backboard and initially appeared to be after the buzzer, but replay review determined that the clock started early, and the shot was good — much to the dismay of Jadwin Gymnasium.
Despite the abrupt change of momentum, Princeton regrouped quickly. “When we practice, we play in five-minute increments,” Hill said. “So we all huddled up and said, ‘It’s just one five-minute game, it’s 0–0.’”
The game went to overtime, where both teams got their offensive touch back. Belker and Baines traded pull-up jumpers to open the period. Belker hit another long three, which was immediately answered by a step back three from Gray. After a stop, a tough reverse layup from Chen gave Princeton the lead back. One Princeton free throw later, Gray nailed another three to tie the game at 67, forcing a second overtime period.
The back-and-forth continued in double overtime, where Chen hit a pair of free throws and the Pirates’ Kae Setterfield converted a driving layup. Each team missed a few open looks, until a battle for a loose ball put Chea at the line. She hit the first free throw and missed the second.
Baines then made a pair of free throws to put Seton Hall ahead 71–70, but on the next trip down Belker hit another clutch jumper to take the lead. “We were just looking for ways to attack,” Belker said of the shot. “I have confidence in my teammates that if I miss, they’ll get the rebound, so I just saw the opening and shot it.”
Game Winner.
— Princeton WBB (@PrincetonWBB) November 30, 2023
Skye’s midrange bucket in double overtime was the difference as the Tigers defeated Seton Hall, 75-71.#GetStops 🐯🏀 pic.twitter.com/fTnOMZQDDb
From here, some big defensive stops from St. Rose and Belker along with clutch free throw shooting earned the Tigers a 75–71 win.
“I’m pleased we came out with the victory. I wish it would’ve ended a little bit sooner, but I think we persevered and fought through,” Coach Berube concluded. “These are all really great learning experiences for the team and can only help us out in the long term.”
Princeton will be back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island (5–3 overall, 0–0 Atlantic 10), streaming on ESPN+.
Tate Hutchins is a contributor to the Sports section of the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]princeton.edu.
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