Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Face Penn and Sparkling Jewel In Ivy League Opener
January 08, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2004
The time of the season has arrived when one goal is shared by eight teams for the next two months. Beginning this weekend at Penn, Princeton plays 14 of its remaining 15 games against Ivy League opponents with the winner of the conference advancing to the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers and Quakers meet this Friday, Jan. 9 at the Palestra. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard live on www.goprincetontigers.com
Although the Tigers were picked to finish last in the preseason conference poll, Princeton players, coaches and fans are confident they will exceed all expectations. And although Harvard was the unanimous choice to win the Ivy title, rising teams like Penn, Brown and Dartmouth are determined to deny the Crimson its third straight crown.
Princeton enters its first Ivy League game with a 3-9 record against the toughest competition of any Ivy League school while Penn is 5-5 and comes off a 30-point win over Lehigh last Tuesday night. The Tigers must contain senior Jewel Clark, who averages 19.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and shoots 53.5% from the floor, while playing their style of basketball that resulted in several near upsets of nationally recognized teams this season.
Becky Brown has dominated in the paint, averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game, while Katy Digovich (10.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Casey Lockwood (10.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) have led the inside-out game. Katy O'Brien has been Princeton's most solid player and true point guard, contributing 10.2 points, 3.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting a team- and conference-high 50% behind the arc.
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Princeton vs. Penn
Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 * 7 p.m. * The Palestra
Welcome to the Ivy League - Friday's game between Princeton and Penn is the Ivy League season opener for both teams. In the preseason poll, Penn was picked to finish second in the conference after a 15-12 overall mark and 9-5 finish in the Ivy League last season, while the Tigers were predicted to be last.
The History Book - Princeton leads the all-time series with Penn, 35-19, and the teams split games last season. The Tigers won the first game of the year, 56-51 on Jan. 11 at Jadwin, but lost the second, 79-69 on March 12 at the Palestra. Princeton led by as many as nine points in the first half before the Quakers rallied a comeback.
Tiger Tale - Princeton is 3-9, coming off a 66-60 home defeat of Lafayette that gave head coach Richard Barron his 100th career win. Prior to last Saturday's win, the Tigers dropped four straight to its toughest competition of the season - Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Montana and Idaho.
Strength of Schedule - Three of Princeton's losses came to teams that are currently receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today and AP Top 25 Polls - Nebraska, Montana and Idaho.
Quaker Update - Penn is 5-5 with a huge win over Lehigh (73-43) on Tuesday night. The 30-point margin of victory was the largest since a 36-point win (79-43) over Columbia on Jan. 28, 2000.
The Competition - Two of Penn's losses came to nationally recognized teams - Villanova (57-40) who is currently receiving votes in the Top 25, and Ohio State (95-54) who was ranked 25th in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll.
Common Enemy - Lehigh was Penn and Princeton's only common opponent so far this season. The Mountain Hawks defeated the Tigers 56-53 on Dec. 3.
Holding Down the Fort - Penn is undefeated (2-0) at the Palestra this season, winning 86-68 over Marist on Dec. 1 and then beating Lehigh on Tuesday night.
Becky is Back - Becky Brown, who finished last season as Princeton's leading scorer and rebounder, has moved into the leading scorer role once again this year. She has scored in double figures for the past five games and has been team's leading scorer in four of the 11 games she had played in. Brown averages 12.5 points per game, which is good for 10th in the Ivy League rankings.
Sharing the Wealth - Three other Tigers are ranked in the Ivy League's top 15 for points per game. Katy Digovich is 13th with 10.9 points while Casey Lockwood and Katy O'Brien average 10.3 and 10.2 points per game.
Shining Jewel - Penn has just one player ranked above these four Princeton players in scoring average. Senior Jewel Clark is second in the league with 19.5 points per game behind Harvard's Hana Peljto (22.0 points per game). The next highest scorers for Penn are Joey Rhoads, Mik Austin and Jennifer Fleischer who all average approximately eight points per game.
Efficiency Rates - Brown is third in the Ivy League in field goal percentage at .509 (57 for 112) behind Clark (.535) and Harvard's Reka Cserny (.519).
On the Line - Lockwood leads the Tigers in free throw percentage (.775), hitting 31 of 40 attempts from the line. Her percentage is ninth in the Ivy League and no Princeton or Penn players are ranked above her.
Crashing the Boards - Clark leads Penn and the Ivy League with 9.9 rebounds per game, including 7.1 defensive rebounds per game. She has 28 offensive and 71 defensive boards and grabbed an average of 11.5 rebounds in the past two games. Fleischer adds 7.6 rebounds for the Quakers, who out-rebound their opponents by 2.9 boards per game.
Leaders in the Paint - Lockwood is Princeton's leading rebounder with 8.3 boards per game, good for a sixth-place standing in the Ivies. While she has led the Tigers in rebounding in 10 of the 12 games, Digovich and Brown have added 6.3 and 5.4 rebounds apiece. Princeton out-rebounds its opponents by 2.1 boards per game.
Center of Distribution - O'Brien dishes out 3.33 assists per game behind just four other Ivy League players and has 13 more assists than any of her teammates. Digovich chips in 2.25 assists and Lockwood averages 1.67 per game.
Pass the Rock - Penn has four Quakers with over 20 total assists but no player averages in the top seven of the league. Clark and Austin lead the Quakers with 2.8 and 2.7 assists per game.
Long Range Threats - O'Brien leads Princeton and the entire Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 33 of her 66 attempts (.500) and averaging 2.75 three-pointers per game. Penn's Cat Makarewich is 17 for 35 (.486) from long range.
The Fab Five - Penn's starting lineup has not varied in 10 games - Clark (34.6 minutes per game), Fleischer, Austin, Makarewich and Amanda Kammes. Rhoads has been a consistent sixth man, averaging 20.6 minutes per game in all 10 games. Katie Kilker is the only other Quaker to play in all ten games but Karen Habrukowich, who led Penn is almost every category last season and sat out the first six games this year with a knee injury, has been back again in the past four games.
Clearing the Bench - Of the 10 available players on Princeton's roster, nine average over 13 minutes per game and eight have started at least two games. Lockwood and O'Brien are the only Tigers to play and start in all 12 games but Digovich averages a team-high 32.7 minutes per game. Lockwood and O'Brien each average 31 minutes per game.
The Injured List - Mary Cate Opila sustained a concussion and is unable to play against Penn while Kelli Hughes, who injured her knee, is a game-time decision.
The Tale of the Tape - Penn has the edge over Princeton on paper, leading the Tigers in almost every offensive category including points per game (67.1 to 58.4), field goal percentage (.435 to .387), free-throw percentage (.676 to .626) and turnovers per game (16.6 to 19.1). The Tigers have the advantage in two key categories - points allowed per game (61.8 to 66.9) and rebounds per game (38.6 to 37.7).
If Anyone Can Stop Them ... - Penn is shooting .363 behind the arc but Princeton is second in the Ivy League in three-point field goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting just .282 from long range against the Tigers.
Proud Crowds - Princeton has played in front of over 2,000 fans three times this season, including 3,409 fans against Montana in Dahlberg Arena.
A New Year - The Tigers are almost halfway through their 2003-04 season and now enter a more familiar part of their schedule. After traveling to Nebraska, Tennessee and Montana and hosting two ACC teams, Princeton now has 14 league games, seven of which are home.