Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Try Power Of Their Minds On The Court
January 23, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Princeton takes the court for its first game in over two weeks when it travels to Colgate this Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. The Tigers were on a study and exam break while the Raiders will have played five games during the same time span.
"Quite simply I expect us to start winning games after this break," Barron said.?"I know we will always play hard but now I'm counting on our experiences from the first half of the season?to shape us into a smarter and more mature team."
Princeton's first challenge won't be easy as Colgate is 10-7 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League. The Raiders were ranked second in the Patriot League preseason poll behind Army, who they lost to 79-76 last week. Colgate dropped a second consecutive game for just the second time this season with a 58-57 loss to American before it recovered to maul Army by nearly 30 points. Although the Raiders have seven more wins than the Tigers, Princeton has the edge in strength of schedule after facing two ACC schools and three teams that received votes for the Top 25 this season. Of their two common opponents, Colgate and Princeton both beat Lafayette by six points and defeated Wagner by at least 10 points.
While the Raiders have momentum, the break may be just what the Tigers need to reenergize for the second half of the season after a 3-10 start including five losses in its last six games. Although Princeton nearly upset big-name teams such as Georgia Tech and Montana, it couldn't pull out wins in close games and lost to several teams that head coach Richard Barron felt it should have defeated.
"All of our games were games that we could have won, especially Lehigh, Hoftsra and Georgia Tech." Barron said. "Unforced errors, missed free throws and lay-ups, and defensive breakdowns have been our undoing in the final minutes of each game."
Barron and the Tigers have used this week's practices to reevaluate their core beliefs and change their mindset from that of a 3-10 team to that of a winning team. Had Princeton won the aforementioned games against Lehigh, Hofstra and Georgia Tech, it would have entered the Penn game tied for first in the Ivy League with a 6-6 overall record and a huge home win over the team picked to finish 4th in the ACC.?
"How differently would we feel about ourselves if that were true?" Barron said.?"We're talking about a couple of made shots - lay-ups, free throws, an open three - completely changing our perception of ourselves."
Given Barron's high morale, you won't hear it as an excuse from him but it's no secret that Princeton is a young team who has yet to reach its potential. The Tigers start two freshmen and two sophomores, have no juniors and were down to just one senior after captain Mary Cate Opila missed the last five games with a concussion.
Princeton's bread and butter is its four-way scoring threat with Becky Brown, Katy Digovich and Casey Lockwood all averaging in double figures, and sophomore Katy O'Brien right on their tails at 9.9 points per game.
Each has intangibles unlike the others such as Brown's 50% field goal percentage and O'Brien's 35 three-pointers. Digovich and Lockwood lead the inside-out game and combine for 22.1 points, 14.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
"Both (Digovich and Lockwood) are excellent offensive players with great versatility to their games," Barron said, "and they have proven to be very good rebounders, something our program has lacked over the past two seasons."
The fifth starter has been Shelly Slemp, Maureen McCracken, Ali Smith or Lauren Nestor, who all have at least three starts and average more than 12.5 minutes per game.
Most recently, Princeton has used senior center McCracken in the starting lineup for additional height alongside Brown. McCracken started against Penn and contributed seven points and three blocks in 18 minutes.
The Raiders rely on junior forward Emily Braseth, the team's leading scorer in 10 of 17 games. Braseth leads Colgate in points (18.1 per game) and rebounds (7.5 per game) while shooting 51% from the floor.
Senior guard Malissa Burke is another scoring threat with 13.1 points per game and 24 three-pointers while rookie guard Molly Patterson adds 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Patterson has a team-high 26 three-pointers and is 23-32 (.719) from the foul line.
While the Tigers crave a win more than ever, they know that win or lose they need to play hard for 40 minutes to avoid letups that plagued their early season.
"Some days feel like we take a step backwards before we take two forwards," Barron said. "Still, it is clear that we are moving in the right direction."