Women’s basketball (10–1 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) defeated Rutgers (7–4, 0–0 Big 10) 81–63 on Wednesday to snag another win against a Power Four conference opponent. While Rutgers kept the game competitive for the first three quarters, junior guard/forward Fadima Tall’s career-high 28 points and Princeton’s fourth-quarter offensive attack were too much to handle for the Scarlet Knights.
Going into the game, women’s basketball looked to extend its seven-game win streak and improve to 10 wins on the season. Despite having success against their tough out-of-conference slate, the Tigers were still on the outside looking in on the Top 25. The Tigers’ only loss has come from No. 9 Maryland.
“We’re doing great,” Tall told The Daily Princetonian. “I feel like everyone else in the country does slightly, at least, have us on their radar. That’s enough for us.”
It was Tall’s night from the get-go. To open the game, she splashed a three-pointer to put Princeton up early, setting the tone for her performance to come. With her foot on the gas, she did not let up, finishing with four three-pointers with her 28 points.
Rutgers took an early 7–5 lead after opening with a 7–0 run, causing Head Coach Carla Berube, who is undefeated against Rutgers during her tenure at Princeton, to call an early timeout to regroup. The teams went back and forth for the rest of the first quarter, which ended 21–19.
In the second quarter, Tall went to work. In three straight possessions, she made it back to the charity stripe, making good on five-for-six. In the contest against Rutgers, she drew eight fouls and shot an efficient 10–11 from the line.
Tall had the task of playing the five, or center position, often defending Rutgers players a few inches taller than her.
“I know I’m not gonna win in a physical battle because they’re bigger than me, so I know I have to outsmart them,” Tall told the ‘Prince.’ “That’s like beating them to the spot or being in a position where I could help over and draw a charge and drop out.”
The teams battled it out for the rest of the half, heading to the locker rooms with a score of 36–31 in the Tigers’ favor. Despite their smaller size, Princeton out-rebounded Rutgers 18–10, including eight offensive boards that generated second-chance points. Rutgers has six players listed at 6’3” or taller, while Princeton has zero.
Though Rutgers would pull back within two points coming out of the break, the Tigers would keep them at bay. After a few minutes of play, junior guard/forward Olivia Hutcherson jumped the passing lane to get the steal and a breakaway layup, forcing Rutgers to call a timeout while Princeton led 44–37.
Junior guard Ashley Chea also got going in the third, knocking down two triples, contributing 16 points on the night.
“There’s never a day when all of us are off because we’re just all talented players that feed off of each other,” Tall said. “We just swing the ball, and someone’s going to score. It’s going to be a good shot, no matter where it goes.”
Rutgers kept doing just enough to hang around, not letting the Tigers pull too far away just yet. The Tigers had a 51–44 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Orange and Black offense came alive, opening by scoring seven unanswered points. The Tigers had no issues breaking Rutgers’s full-court press, making the right passes, and generating good looks. The Tigers poured on an additional 30 points in the fourth.
“They were just a tough matchup for us,” Berube said. “I think our defense was pretty good in that fourth quarter for some runs, and we got some easy scoring opportunities.”
Following the win over Rutgers, the Tigers will have a 10-day break until their next game against George Mason (6–5, 1–0 Atlantic 10) on Dec. 20 at 1 p.m.
“This time off can be good,” Berube told the ‘Prince.’ “And hopefully we can ramp it back up and get ready for two really tough games before the holiday break.”
Jordan Halagao is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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