Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Loses The Battle of Mercer Country
August 18, 1999 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 8, 1998
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Rider outscored Princeton 15-4 in the final six minutes to capture the 65-59 win at Alumni Gym tonight for bragging rights of Mercer County.
The crowd saw a close played first half, with Princeton holding a six-point lead with less than a minute remaining in the half. Two free throws by Rider's Jen Carey cut the Tiger lead to four going into the break, 36-32.
Lauren Rigney (Fr., Marlborough, Mass.) ignited Princeton, scoring five of her 10 first half points in the final 2:30. She was 3 of 3 from the floor and perfect on three attempts from the line before intermission.
Princeton extended their lead to 10 points in the early minutes of the second half, but a 10-1 Bronc run cut the lead to one, 48-47 with 10:25 remaining. Julie Angell (Sr., Plymouth, Mich.) nailed a three-pointer with 6:30 remaining to give the Tigers a five-point advantage.
It was downhill after that, as Princeton was unable to score in the next five minutes. A field goal by Lea Ann Drohan (Sr., Ballston Lake, NY) with 2 seconds remaining left the Tigers with the six-point loss.
Angell led the Tigers with a season-high 13 points. Kate Thirolf (Jr., Rockville, Md.) added 12 points and five rebounds. Rigney finished the game with a career-high 11 points.