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Princeton University
Cornell
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Cowher Scores 27 as Seven Tigers Hit Double-Figures in 94-80 Princeton Women's Basketball Win at Cornell
January 14, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. - One night after scoring 32 points, sophomore Meagan Cowher made it 59 in the last two games. With 27 points on 11 for 16 shooting at Cornell (4-11, 1-1 Ivy) on Saturday, Cowher led seven Tigers in double-figures as the Princeton women's basketball team (12-4, 3-0) came within four points of breaking the school scoring record in a 94-80 win. The Tigers have won six in a row, swept the Columbia-Cornell weekend for the first time since 2000, and have started 3-0 in the Ivy League for the first time since 1999.
The 94 points were the most in regulation since Dec. 4, 2002 in a 97-69 win over Centenary. Princeton has reached 97 three times in its history, 96 twice and now 94 on two occasions. With the win, the Tigers kept the best start since 1988 going at 12-4 as the '87-'88 club won 14 of its first 18.
Princeton shot 60.7 percent for the game, the best in the careers of any current Tiger, and rendered a very respectable 51.9 percent clip by Cornell moot by winning both the rebounding and turnover battles. Eleven different Princeton players had a rebound and none had more than five (Casey Lockwood) as Princeton outrebouned the Big Red 33-23. Cornell turned the ball over 14 times to 11 for Princeton as the duo of Tiger starting guards, senior Katy O'Brien and freshman Jessica Berry, had 16 assists between them and only two giveaways.
Behind Cowher in the lengthy Tiger scoring column was senior Becky Brown, who had 13 points on 6 for 9 shooting, plus Berry, O'Brien, Lockwood and sophomores Ali Prichard and Ariel Rogers, all with 10 points apiece. Shanna Scarselletta had a team-high 20 for Cornell, which had four players in double-figures. The Tigers shot 60.0 percent (21 for 35) in the first half an edge that grew as large as 18 points. Cornell, despite shooting 48.0 percent (12 for 25) never led after being up 3-2 early on. After being ahead 19-12 with 11 minutes left in the half, Princeton went on a 9-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to inflate its lead to 16. Two of the same principles that had big nights against Columbia propelled Princeton to its lead in the opening half, as Cowher and Prichard had 10 points each by the break.
There was no letdown in the second half, as Princeton's lead stayed in the teens until Cowher gave the Tigers their first 20-point lead with 15:46 on a free throw, making it 56-36. From there, the lead got as high as 27 on another Cowher attempt from the stripe that made it 70-43 with 13:24 left. Cornell cut the Princeton advantage under 20 only in the final two minutes.
Foul trouble benefitted Princeton more than at the line, where the Tigers hit 16 of 20 attempts, as Cornell freshman center Jeomi Maduka was limited to 18 minutes and fouled out. Maduka had been averaging a team-high 13.4 points per game and 7.6 rebounds. She scored 10 and pulled down three boards against the Tigers.
Princeton now enters the 19-day finals break. The Orange and Black continues its Ivy-opening five-game road trip at Yale on Feb. 3 and Brown on Feb. 4 before opening the home conference slate the following weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth.