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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Saint Joseph's
Players Mentioned
Princeton Women's Basketball Unable to Rally at St. Joseph's, 58-46
November 18, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2005
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Cold shooting in the first half forced the Princeton women's basketball team into catch-up mode for most of the game on Friday evening in Philadelphia as the Tigers dropped their season-opening contest at St. Joseph's, 58-46. The Tigers shot 19.0 percent in the first 20 minutes while St. Joseph's used 34.6 percent shooting from the field to take a 30-17 halftime lead that Princeton could not overcome.
The Tigers were led by 15 points from senior center Becky Brown, who upped her career total to 1,176 points. The total moved her into eighth place on Princeton's all-time list. In her first game in Orange and Black, freshman Jessica Berry had 10 points and seven rebounds, sharing the team best with Brown in that category.
St. Joseph's jumped out to a 9-0 lead before sophomore Meagan Cowher hit two free throws at the 13:33 mark of the first half to break the seal for Princeton, which pulled to within 9-6. The SJU lead was again three points at 13-10 when the Hawks went on an 11-0 run in just over three minutes' time to open up a 24-10 lead.
The Tigers showed signs of turning the game its way in the second half. With St. Joseph's up 40-26, Princeton scored eight of the next 10 points to trim the lead to eight with just under eight minutes left. Brown had four of the eight points in the rally bid. But four points from SJU's Ayahna Cornish pushed the home team's lead back to double digits. The margin stayed at least nine points the rest of the way. Princeton's offense found more rhythm in the second half, hitting 10 of 23 from the field and outscoring St. Joseph's 29-28 in the game's last 20 minutes. But the 13-point halftime lead doomed Princeton, which lost its opener for the third time in Richard Barron's five seasons. Last season, the Tigers started 1-0 on the way to a 13-14 season, the most wins since 1998-99.
Princeton went without a three-pointer in the game, missing on 12 attempts while St. Joseph's hit three from beyond the arc. The home team also took better advantage of its free throw chances, hitting on 15 of 21 while Princeton hit 18 of 30. Cornish led SJU with 16 points, while Whitney Ffrench added 10.
Princeton opens the home schedule on Tuesday against Patriot League foe Lehigh at 7 p.m. before heading to California for two games at St. Mary's in Moraga, Calif.