Princeton University Athletics
Women's Basketball Wraps-up 2004-05 Season
June 02, 2005 | Women's Basketball
June 2, 2005
PRINCETON, N.J. - Senior Kristin Lynch of the women's basketball team was honored as the recipient of the 2005 Herbert W. Hobler award as the team concluded the 2004-05 season with an end of the year celebration. The Herbert W. Hobler '44 P68 g99 Award is given annually to a member of the team, who through her efforts, best exemplifies the ideals and values of the women's basketball program.
Lynch, the lone senior, played in seven games and earned four starts, before a career-ending injury sidelined her. Prior to this season, Lynch was a dedicated manager for three years.
2004-05 women's basketball season review
Blessed with five returning starters and a couple of highly-touted freshmen, the Princeton women's basketball team came within just one game of reaching the .500 mark, finishing 13-14 and 5-9 in the Ivy League. The overall mark was the best at Princeton in head coach Richard Barron's four-year tenure.
Season highlights included six more wins than last season, a six-game winning streak-the longest in six years, five road victories versus none a year ago, and the first triumph over Columbia since 2000. Individually, junior Becky Brown soared over the 1,000-point mark, finishing with 1,161 and now stands 10th on the all-time career-scoring list, with one more season still to play.
Freshman Meghan Cowher earned Ivy Rookie of the Year honors, and was invited to try out for the USA Trails team. Another first-year player, Ariel Rogers was named to the league's all-rookie team, while Brown garnered second-team All-Ivy honors, and junior Katy O'Brien received honorable mention. Princeton got off on the right foot with a gutsy overtime 57-52 triumph over Monmouth in its opening game. Sophomore Katy Digovich tallied a game-high 17 points for the Tigers, and Cowher wasted no time displaying her talents with a double-double (10 points and rebounds) in her collegiate debut.
After Lehigh dealt the Orange and Black its first loss, 64-51, Princeton headed south for contests against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. The Demon Deacons were too much for the Tigers the first night, jumping out to a 49-20 lead in the first half and cruising from there. Digovich led Princeton with 16 points.
A much closer game against the Yellow Jackets followed, and with 1:50 left in the game the Tigers trailed by just a point, 51-50. However, with Princeton in foul trouble, the winners scored the next nine points from the free throw line and won 60-50.
Princeton captured its first road win since the 2002-03 campaign on the first of December with a 63-53 victory over Wagner. O'Brien hit six of nine three-pointers and led all scorers with 18 points, while Cowher added 15 points. A trip to New Brunswick a week later to face highly-ranked Rutgers was not as successful. Princeton fell to the Scarlet Knights, 68-46.
Returning to Jadwin in mid-December didn't provide immediate help; the Orange and Black dropped a 56-46 decision to St. Mary's of California. Despite a career-high 15 points from sophomore Elyse Umeda and five steals by O'Brien, Princeton's record fell to 2-5.
A winless New Orleans team was just the tonic the Tigers needed to turn things around four days later. Cowher's 13 points led the way to a 47-36 victory over the Privateers. Another victory followed against Mount St. Mary's as 48% shooting from the field fueled a 79-58 win. Brown's 21-point effort led the way, followed by O'Brien with 12 and Rogers with 10.
The Christmas break did not break the Tigers' momentum. A third consecutive win came on December 30 against Fairleigh Dickinson, 58-51, in Hackensack. The contest featured 15 lead changes and 13 ties, but in the end Princeton prevailed with good rebounding and foul shooting. Brown had another superb outing with 20 points.
Princeton rang in the New Year with its fourth consecutive win, 67-50, on January 3 against St. Peter's. An explosive 28-point performance by Cowher helped put the Tigers above the .500 mark, while Brown added 19 and grabbed nine rebounds and O'Brien chipped in with 12 points.
The streak reached five wins two days later with a 64-53 win over Army in Jadwin Gym. Trailing at the intermission, the Tigers went on an 11-1 run to start the second half, took the lead and never looked back. Brown continued her torrid scoring pace with 23 points and Cowher earned her second double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
A 20-day break for exams did nothing to slow down Princeton. It ran its streak to six games, the longest since the 1997-98 season, with an 82-72 win over Lafayette in Easton. Brown was almost unstoppable with 24 points and sophomore Casey Lockwood added nine off the bench, as the Tigers extended their record to 8-5.
Ivy play began the last weekend in January and Princeton came within a whisker of winning its league opener and seventh straight game. Digovich sank two foul shots with two seconds left. However, a foul shot at the end enabled Brown University to clinch to a 63-62 victory in Providence. Brown finished with 19 points, O'Brien had 12 and Cowher posted 11.
The next night in New Haven, Conn., Princeton bounced back to hold off Yale, 56-52. Clutch foul shooting by Digovich, Brown and Umeda in the closing minute provided the margin of victory. Brown's 16 points in the game, gave her 1,000 in her career.
Back home against Penn on February 1, Princeton lost a heartbreaker in double overtime, 61-59. The game could have gone either way, but in the end the Quakers prevailed, despite 20 points by Brown and 18 by Cowher. Princeton's record dropped to 9-7 overall, 1-2 in the league.
Dartmouth and Harvard arrived in Jadwin the first weekend in February, and the Orange and Black struggled against both. The Big Green led by just one, 31-30, at halftime, but pulled steadily away in the final 20 minutes for a 69-55 win. A crowd of 3,289 turned out for National Girls and Women in Sports Day, but could not help the Tigers against Harvard, which won, 67-51. Rogers had a, then, career-high 11 points and junior Lauren Nestor grabbed 11 rebounds.
Princeton stopped the three-game skid with a 78-74 triumph over Cornell in Ithaca to move back over the .500 mark at 10-9. Brown's double-double, 20 points and 14 boards, provided the spark.
Going for a rare sweep on the road, Princeton came close against Columbia in New York City, but the Lions held on for a 61-57 win. O'Brien's 15 points led the way for Princeton, while Rogers improved upon her career-high again adding 12 points.
Back in Jadwin for rematches with Yale and Brown, Princeton earned a home sweep and pushed its record to 12-10. The Elis fell 75-49 to Princeton. The Tigers shot a scintillating 19 of 21 from the charity stripe, including seven of eight by Rogers. O'Brien and Nester both recorded career-first double-doubles.
Revenge was sweet against Brown the next evening, with the Tigers prevailing, 53-50, in a close rematch. The Bruins led 50-49 with 1:36 left, but Digovich took over and scored on a lay-up with 17 seconds left and sealed the win with two free throws with five ticks left on the game clock. Rogers upped her career-high to 13, and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for her effort.
The return game against Penn in the Palestra saw a career-high 14-point effort by Lockwood, but another win by the Quakers, this time, 58-50. The Tigers led 36-27 with 15:12 to go, but poor foul shooting down the stretch did them in. The team's record fell to 12-11, and 4-6 in the league,
The final two games at home against Columbia and Cornell were a reversal of the first meeting. The Tigers sent the Lions back with a 72-53 loss, beating them for the first time in five years. The Orange and Black never trailed in the contest, with Brown, Rogers, O'Brien and Cowher all scoring in double figures.
But the momentum did not carry over to the contest against the Big Red the next evening. The visitors were off and running from the opening tip, and led 25-9 at one point. The Tigers cut the deficit to two, 36-34, at the beginning of the second half, but that was as close as they would get. Cornell was strong down the stretch, winning 76-61.
Needing a split in the final weekend of play to avoid a losing record, the Orange and Black unfortunately had to face Harvard and Dartmouth on the road. Freshman Ali Prichard tallied 17 points, but the Crimson won handily, 71-49, increasing its league mark to 10-2.
Eventual league champion Dartmouth ended Princeton's hopes of a .500 season with a 78-63 decision in Hanover, the next evening. Brown finished strong with 21 points, but the Big Green had too much firepower of its own. The season-ending loss put the Tigers' record at 13-14 and 5-9 in the league.
But the graduation of just one senior, Kristin Lynch, should put the Tigers in good position to post a winning mark next winter.