Princeton University Athletics
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Princeton Women's Hoops Visits Lehigh Friday
November 20, 2006 | Women's Basketball
The Princeton women's basketball team will travel to Lehigh for a 7 p.m. contest Friday in Bethlehem, Pa. The Tigers will be looking to even their record at 2-2 after an 0-2 weekend at the University of Minnesota's Subway Classic.
Missing in Minnesota: The Tigers came home Sunday with two losses in Minnesota as the host Golden Gophers and fellow northeast squad Maine each felled Princeton over the weekend at the Subway Classic. Minnesota began the weekend Saturday afternoon with an 85-60 win, and Maine defeated Princeton 69-63 with a late stretch of spot on free throw shooting to drop the Tigers to 1-2.
Just last year...: Princeton started the season 1-2 after losing to Saint Joseph's and Saint Mary's and defeating Lehigh. The team went on to finish 21-7 overall, 12-2 in the Ivy League and win a share of the league title.
Hear the game: Friday's contest can be heard at www.goprincetontigers.com with Derek Jones making his 2006-07 debut on the call. Twenty-three of Princeton's 28 games this year will be on the air with Jones and John Sadak splitting the duties.
Right where she left off: Princeton's Meagan Cowher has resumed the play that helped her earn a coveted spot on the First-Team All-Ivy a year ago. She's averaging 15.7 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per contest and has scored double-digit points in each game with 11 against Wagner and 18 each versus Minnesota and Maine. Those last two performances helped her earn Subway Classic All-Tournament Team honors. She had her first double-double of the season against the Black Bears, adding 13 boards to her 18 points.
All-time series: Princeton leads the all-time series 11-8, but Lehigh has won six of the 10 meetings in Bethlehem including four of the last five. Here is the series, game-by-game:
Year Site Outcome
1983-84 H W, 75-70
1984-85 A L, 54-73
1985-86 H W, 66-53
1987-88 A W, 59-51
1988-89 H W, 58-56
1989-90 A L, 65-73
1990-91 H W, 61-29
1991-92 A W, 68-56
1992-93 H W, 74-34
1993-94 A W, 75-59
1997-98 H W, 68-43
1998-99 A L, 40-48
1999-00 H L, 67-76
2000-01 A L, 38-64
2001-02 A W, 76-61
2002-03 A L, 61-66
2003-04 H L, 53-56
2004-05 A L, 51-64
2005-06 H W, 68-57
Hawks flying: Lehigh is 2-1 and is a bucket away from being 3-0 on the young season with a 57-36 win over Long Island two weekends ago, a 54-53 loss to Penn and a 55-48 win over Syracuse since then. A different player each game has led the Mountain Hawks in scoring with senior forward Adrienne Blount's 12.0 points per game as the top average. She's nearly averaging a double-double at 9.0 rebounds per contest. Speaking of boards, Lehigh has a 10.0 rebound margin over its foes.
A family affair: Princeton and Lehigh have a husband-and-wife team in common between their respective softball and women's basketball teams. Lehigh women's hoops coach Sue Troyan's husband, Fran, coaches the Mountain Hawks' softball team. Richard Barron's wife, Maureen, coaches Princeton's softball team.
The last meeting: Princeton opened its home schedule last season Nov. 22, 2005 against Lehigh with a 68-57 win. Both teams' leading scorers in that game have since graduated, with Lehigh's Jenny Callan scoring 18 and Princeton's Becky Brown earning a double-double with 19 points and 11 boards. Katy O'Brien, also a 2006 grad, scored 16 for the Tigers and Meagan Cowher had 14. Adrienne Blount had 13 points and eight rebounds for Lehigh. The Tigers were proficient from the field, hitting on 51.8 percent of their shots to help the win and partially counter Lehigh's 17 offensive rebounds (Princeton had 10).
Wendy World: With the Cowher sisters, Princeton is used to having a well known sports name on its roster. Lehigh now has a distinct sports name on its team as well with the arrival of 6-2 freshman forward Wendy Szczerbiak. Her brother, Wally, is in his ninth season in the NBA and second with the Boston Celtics after spending seven-plus years with Minnesota.
Stepping in: Princeton had to replace two starters after last season with the graduation of center Becky Brown and shooting guard Katy O'Brien. Ariel Rogers and Caitlin O'Neill seem to have the inside track on those positions, respectively. Rogers is averaging 20 minutes a game and 9.7 points per night, while O'Neill's 32.0 minutes per contest is the second-most on the team.
More O'Neill: O'Neill and O'Brien have similarities beyond the beginnings of their surnames. They played for the same high school in Ventura, Calif., and were teammates for a year in 2001-02 when O'Brien was a senior and O'Neill a freshman. They both like the three-point shot, with O'Neill putting up 21 of Princeton's 55 attempts.
Change of scheme: Without the talented Becky Brown in the post, the Tigers have opted to go with a wide-open offense that has points coming from several Tigers on a regular basis. While sophomore Jessica Berry has started all three games, the point guard who came within three assists of setting a new school record last year has more help with the helpers. Princeton's 47 assists have come from 11 players, with Caitlin O'Neill's 12 dimes setting the pace.
On the road again: Princeton is in a stretch where it will play five of six games on the road. The Tigers dropped the first two in Minnesota and will play road game No. 3 Friday at Lehigh. After a home game Nov. 29 versus Saint Joseph's, Princeton will visit Northwestern for a two-game tournament Dec. 1-2.
Home fans: As Minnesotans Jillian Schurle and Ali Prichard did last weekend, three Tigers could play in front of their home fans at Northwestern. Ariel Rogers, Elizabeth Pietrzak and Lillie Romeiser are all from the greater Chicagoland area. The Cowher sisters will have that chance Dec. 22 at Duquesne in Pittsburgh.