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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Cornell
Women's Basketball Holds Off Cornell, 78-74
February 11, 2005 | Women's Basketball
ITHACA, N.Y.--The Tigers sealed the game with free throws and shot just over 70% from the charity stripe, including a 6 of 8 performance from Lauren Nestor, as they held off a late surge from Cornell and won 78-74 Friday night at Newman Arena. The Tigers improve to 10-9 on the season and 2-4 in the conference as they snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Big Red drops to 2-18 and 0-7 in the Ivy League.
Junior Becky Brown earned her first double-double of the season, the team's third, with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Brown opened scoring in the second half with a sky-hook after she rebounded a missed jumper by sophomore Casey Lockwood. Princeton jumped out to a 48-37 lead five minutes into the second period. Both sophomores Elyse Umeda and Lillie Romeiser made threes in the 15-5 run. Princeton maintained at least a 10-point lead throughout the send half until Cornell's Claire Perry made good on a one-and-one opportunity. After a defensive stop Lindsay Krasna was also sent to the line and made one of two to cut the Tiger lead to 54-47 with 9:58 to play.
Leading 64-57 Umeda found junior Katy O'Brien for a three-ball in the right corner and put Princeton back on top 67-57 and iced the Big Red's momentum.
The final three minutes of the game turned into a free throw shooting contest as both teams were in the double bonus. Princeton was 24-34 from the foul line and 21-29 in the second half.
Katherine Stritzl made two quick baskets for the Big Red after sending Nestor to the charity stripe, where she made the bottom half of a pair of free throws. Cornell trailed 71-62.
After Krasna made a pair of free throws with 46.3 second left, freshman Ariel Rogers was sent to the foul line and made the first but the second rimmed out. On the very next possession for Cornell Perry made a three-pointer and trailed 75-71 with under 30 seconds to play in regulation.
Umeda converted on her trip to the charity stripe and put the Tigers up 77-71, but Hillary Seidel made a shot from downtown with 2.4 seconds on the clock and set the game at 77-74. Lockwood stepped to the foul line and made the first shot but missed the second, while Nestor controlled the rebound and secured the game for Princeton.
The first half was a back and forth game where both teams led at one point and tied the score 10 times. Cornell took its first lead of the game at the 15:43 mark at 7-4. On the next play Umeda tied it with her first three-pointer of the game.
Rogers, deep under the basket, made a lay-up and earned a trip to the free throw line and converted. Princeton trailed 11-10 seven minutes into the first stanza.
The Tigers regained the lead with 8:04 to play in the half after Lockwood tallied the score at 23-21 off a mid-range jumper. Brown capped-off a 5-2 run and opened a 28-22 lead with a scrappy lay-up off a rebound.
Perry split two Princeton defenders and found Krasna for the open basket and tied the game at 31 with 2:08 on the clock. Baskets from Krasna of the Big Red and Lockwood sent the game tied at 33 into intermission. Lockwood finished the game with a season-high 12 points.
Princeton plays Columbia Saturday night at 7 p.m.