Princeton University Athletics
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Women's Basketball Opens Season Saturday at Jadwin with Wagner
November 07, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Wagner
For openers: Princeton opens its season Saturday against Wagner. The Tigers are 2-3 in openers under Richard Barron, dropping last year's first game at Saint Joseph's.
61 wins and counting: Princeton coach Richard Barron has won 61 games in his five seasons and can become the second-winningest coach in program history with another strong season. Currently, he is fourth behind Liz Feeley's 68 in the 1990s, Pat Walsh's 72 in the 1970s and Joan Kowalik's 163 from 1984-95.
What a season: The 2005-06 Tigers set a school record for overall wins with 21 and Ivy wins with 12, advancing to within a game of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Dartmouth in an Ivy playoff necessitated by three teams, including Brown, finishing at 12-2.
Tough act to follow: Princeton returns three starters, but will have to replace shooting guard Katy O'Brien and center Becky Brown. Brown was a First-Team All-Ivy player in 2006 and won the league's scoring title at nearly 16 points per game. Brown also finished third in Division I in shooting percentage. She ended her career third on Princeton's all-time scoring list.
Who's coming back: The three starters who return include First-Team All-Ivy forward Meagan Cowher, All-Ivy rookie point guard Jessica Berry and senior forward Casey Lockwood. Berry finished in the top 25 in Division I in assists per game and came within three assists of setting a new school record for season assists.
Last time against Wagner: On Dec. 1, 2004, Princeton and Wagner had their most recent meeting. That one took place on Staten Island, home of the Seahawks, and was a 63-53 Princeton victory. Then-rookie Meagan Cowher had 15 points for the Tigers, while 2006 graduates Katy O'Brien (18) and Ali Smith (13) were also in double-figures. Princeton won despite being outshot 51.4 percent to 36.1 percent, with rebounds even at 32 apiece. The telling stat was turnovers. Wagner gave the ball away 23 times, 10 more than the Tigers. Wagner also gave Princeton 17 second-chance rebounds to just five of its own.
Wagner's last time in Princeton: On Dec. 17, 2003, Princeton defeated Wagner 65-44 at Jadwin Gym. Katy O'Brien led Princeton with 14 points, while then-rookies Katy Digovich (10) and Casey Lockwood (12 points, 10 rebounds) were also in double-digits. Princeton outshot Wagner 37.1 percent to 30.4 percent and outrebounded the Seahawks 45-40. The Tigers also benefitted from 22 turnovers to 14 of their own.
The all-time series: Princeton leads the all-time series with Wagner 6-4 and has won the last two games. At home, Princeton is 4-1 versus Wagner hasn't lost since the 1984-85 season.
Strength in numbers: Princeton's roster is tied for the largest in the Ivy League at 17 players. Only Columbia has as many listed heading into the opening game. Dartmouth, which earned the league's bid to the NCAA Tournament last year, has the smallest with 10 players.
Experience on its side: Despite carrying five freshmen, Princeton has the second-oldest roster, by class year, in the Ivy League. Only Harvard's dozen is more experienced, with just one freshman. Cornell has the youngest roster in the league, with only one senior. Princeton has the league's best balance, by class year, with four each of seniors, juniors and sophomores along with the five rookies.
The Tigers are on the air: John Sadak and Derek Jones will call Princeton's games on the Internet once again this season, available at www.GoPrincetonTigers.com. Sadak recently completed his first season as the lead play-by-play voice for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Class-A Carolina League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, while Jones is the assistant station manager at WGLS, the student station at Rowan University in southern New Jersey. Sadak will be working his third season with the Tigers, while this season is Jones' second. The pair will split 23 of Princeton's 28 games.
Recipe for success: The reasons for Princeton's success in 2006-07 were many, some of which can be found in last year's season stats. Princeton finished 14th in Division I in shooting percentage at .461, led by Becky Brown, who had a national third-best .633 shooting clip. While hitting with regularity, Princeton also did a good job on the glass with a rebounding margin of 4.9 boards per game. That margin was earned at both ends, where the Tigers averaged 3.5 more offensive rebounds and 5.1 more defensive boards per game than their opponents. Princeton was almost even in turnovers, 509-507, and had more steals, 249-234. Fewer fouls (493-527) also led to more free throw attempts (554-484), which the Tigers made 67.3 percent of the time.
Coaching staff: Head coach Richard Barron has two new coaches on his staff this season. Replacing Helen Williams, who earned her first head coaching position at Merrimack College in Massachusetts is Charisse Mapp. Mapp's most recent collegiate coaching position was at North Carolina State, where she completed a five-season tenure in 2003. Since then, she coached at Mount Zion Christian Academy in North Carolina before coming to Princeton. Mapp has an Ivy League connection, spending time in the 1990s as a volunteer assistant at Penn.
Peg Swadener is also a new assistant coach for the Orange and Black. Swadener comes to Princeton from the University of Oregon, her alma mater, where she spent three seasons as an assistant.
Additions to the family: Along with new coaches and players, head coach Richard Barron had a new addition to his family in the offseason as he and wife Maureen, Princeton's softball coach also coming off an Ivy-title season, had a son, Billy, in August. He joins their three-year-old twins, Lane and Rae.
On Wagner: The Seahawks also open their season Saturday night, and had an exhibition loss to the NY/NJ Gazelles, 82-60, last Saturday. The Gazelles were led by Shemika Stevens, who ended her career for St. John's in 2004, with 17 points. Junior Chelsey Bunyer and sophomore Olivia Nagle each had 13 points for the Seahawks. Despite winning the rebound battle 41-35, Wagner lost in part because of 36 turnovers (to 24 for the visitors) and being outshot 45.6 percent to 36.2 percent.
Back to the future: Gela Mikalauskas, who coached at Wagner from 1979-90, returned a year ago to coach the Seahawks. Wagner went 2-25 in her first year, a departure for a coach who had a record of 174-134 in her first tour of duty.
Filling shoes: Like Princeton, Wagner will have to replace a big scorer in the new season. Guard Joy Gallagher, who averaged 13.8 points per game, has departed, but the Seahawks return Bunyer, who averaged 14.1 ppg.
Visitors from the city: Wagner is the first of two New York City teams, both from the Northeast Conference, to play at Jadwin Gym in 2006-07. The Terriers from St. Francis College will make their visit Dec. 16 in the last pre-Ivy home game.