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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Colgate
Colgate Spoils Princeton's Return From Exam Break
January 27, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2004
Box Score
Princeton, N.J. - Casey Lockwood had 15 points and seven rebounds in Princeton's final non-conference game of the season, an 87-57 loss to Colgate at Cotterel Court. The Raiders hit 26 free throws, including six apiece by Emily Braseth and Malissa Burke who each finished with 20 points.
Colgate (11-7) looked sharp from the start against Princeton (3-11), who was slow to get a feel for the game after an 18-day break. The Raiders won the tip and scored their first two times down the court while the Tigers missed two open looks in their first possession.
Mary Cate Oplia, who missed the last five games with a concussion, earned her first start of the season and opened the Tigers' scoring with an easy layup at 18:30. Katy Digovich tied the score at 4-4with two free throws before Princeton began a six-minute scoring draught. Three Princeton fouls in three trips down the court put Colgate on the line where they nailed five of six shots, and a steal and a layup by leading scorer Emily Braseth (18.1 ppg) put Colgate ahead 12-4 at 14:08.
Head coach Richard Barron went nine deep into his bench but the Raiders ate up the Princeton defense, forcing the Tigers to foul five times within a three-and-a-half minute span and to put Colgate in the bonus with over six minutes to play in the half. Emily Damuth and Malissa Burke got it done from the outside as well, hitting back-to-back wing shots for an 18-4 Colgate lead at 12:12.
Princeton's offense finally picked up steam when it turned to its go-to long range shooter, Katy O'Brien, who hit two three-pointers within two minutes. O'Brien added a steal and missed layup, which Becky Brown put back to cut Colgate's lead to 24-14 with 9:00 to play.
Opila, Elyse Umeda and Lauren Nestor all came off the bench and scored but Princeton's rally was short lived. The Tigers continued to put Colgate on the line, where it sank six free-throws in the final six minutes and finished the half shooting 11 for 15. The Raiders led 34-25 at the break, with Princeton's only points in the last 2:30 coming off an O'Brien three at the buzzer.
Burke led all scorers with 10 points at the half while O'Brien led Princeton with nine, all on three-pointers. Rebounds and turnovers were about even for both teams.
The second half began just like the first when the Tigers picked up two quick fouls and Colgate scored the first five points. Braseth made a three-point play and added a steal and a layup to fuel the Raiders' 18-point lead at 15:34. All of Princeton's offense in the first five minutes came behind the arc with three's by Digovich and Ali Smith.
The Tigers committed six fouls in the first seven minutes of the half, including Brown's third and fourth fouls, and Colgate converted 4 of 4 free throws. The Raiders were in the bonus with 11 minutes remaining, Maureen McCracken fouled out at 8:43, and Colgate took advantage for the rest of the game.
With a double-digit lead for the entire second half, Colgate cleared its bench and used fresh legs to bury Princeton deeper. The Raiders were confident and energetic while the Tigers broke down on all ends.
Princeton closes the book on its non-conference season (3-10) and hopes for more success against Ivy League competition. The Tigers host Brown and Yale this weekend, Jan. 30-31, both at 7 p.m.