Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Edges Out Lafayette
December 05, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2001
Princeton, N.J. - Sophomore Kelly Schaeffer stepped up to the free throw line and calmly knocked down her attempt with 22 seconds left giving Princeton 70 points, its magic number thus far this season. The Tigers are now 4-0 when scoring 70 or more points after Wednesday night's 72-69 win over Lafayette.
Schaeffer hit 5 of 7 free throws for the game and scored the final four Princeton points from the charity stripe to seal the victory and improve the Tigers to 4-2 overall. Junior Allison Cahill led the Princeton offensive attack with 20 points and now leads the team in scoring with an average of 12.7 points per game.
The Tigers scored first for the fifth time in six games when junior Maureen Lane scored one minute in, making the score 2-0. Lafayette went in front and led by as much as 18-11 before Princeton rallied to take a 33-25 halftime lead. Lane connected on 3 of 6 three-point attempts on the night and finished with 17 points while sophomore guard Mary Cate Opila registered a career-high eight steals and matched a personal best with six assists. Schaeffer finished the game with nine points and freshman Karen Bolster added seven.
Lafayette shot better from the field than Princeton did (47 percent to Princeton's 43 percent) and pulled down more rebounds (44-25), but it was free throw shooting that made the difference with the Tigers making 18 of 23 and Lafayette hitting 13 of 22.
"Tonight's win was not pretty," says Coach Richard Barron. "But that shows just how far this program has come in a very short time. We can play bad and still win. I'm happy with a win, but not with the way we played. We need to work on some things and prepare for Army this Saturday."
The Tigers have already doubled last season's win total only six games into the season. They take their 4-2 mark into West Point, N.Y. this Saturday to battle Army, who lost to Albany, 65-63 in overtime tonight. Princeton will play its next six games on the road before returning to Jadwin Gym on January 8 to face Rider.